The Dark Tower by Stephen King is getting another television adaptation. However, the author claims he isn’t involved at all.
What is The Dark Tower?
The Dark Tower is a sprawling, genre-blending epic that follows Roland Deschain, the last gunslinger, on his quest to reach the mysterious Dark Tower—a structure said to be the linchpin of all existence. Stephen King mixed elements of fantasy, horror and Westerns into the series. Among all his works, The Dark Tower stands out as one of his most ambitious. Many consider it his magnum opus.
A screenshot from the trailer to The Dark Tower – YouTube, Sony Pictures Entertainment
Yet despite its devoted fanbase, Hollywood has struggled to bring it to the screen successfully.
How to Make Proper Adaptations
The movie adaptation from 2017, which starred Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey, was a mess. It sped through the entire series, combining all aspects of the seven books and the novella into one incoherent film. Moreover, it was completely unfaithful to the source material. For one, Roland is described in the books as pale with light blue eyes. Thus, casting Idris Elba as Roland—even though he’s a great actor—was not the best choice. The movie also completely cut two essential characters: Eddie and Susannah.
According to IGN, the director for the newest adaptation, Mike Flanagan, has promised that his version “will prioritize faithfulness to the sprawling story of the novels.”
In an interview from 2022, back when the adaptation was first announced, Mike told IGN that he aims to make the series look more like the books. “The way not to do The Dark Tower,” he said, “is to try to turn it into something else, to try to make it Star Wars or make it Lord of the Rings.”
Idris Elba in The Dark Tower – YouTube, Sony Pictures Entertainment
Bloody Disgusting reported that Flanagan views the adaptation as “a series that’s going at least five seasons” with possible spin-off feature films.
One thing this new series should do, therefore, is keep the characters of Eddie and Susannah. In the books, not only do they help Roland on his journey, their traits resonate with readers. Eddie, a reformed drug addict, struggles to overcome his timidity and lack of independence. And Susannah is already everything modern Hollywood likes injecting into everything: a strong-willed Black woman who happens to be legless and wheelchair-bound. The main difference between the book and current-day entertainment is that Susannah is well-written and doesn’t feel forced at all.
The Wilds of Social Media
It’s always good to hear a director say they want to follow the source material. However, it’s been two years since he made that statement. The only recent mention he’s made of the series is his response to Stephen King on Blue Sky.
Though a brilliant author, Stephen King is known to be unhinged on social media—especially Twitter/X. He’s repeatedly announced his departure from the platform, only to return shortly after. Most of what he posts is usually about politics, particularly presidential politics. These posts often make him seem like a completely different person from the one who wrote all those books. Perhaps that’s why he said what he did on Blue Sky regarding Mike Flanagan’s adaptation of his work.
Stephen King being interviewed – YouTube, PBS News Hour
Many news outlets, including Bloody Disgusting and IGN, were reporting that King would be writing for the adaptation. The author was quick to clarify this on Blue Sky: “Contrary to the Internet (which usually is never wrong),” he wrote, “I am NOT writing for Mike Flanagan’s DARK TOWER.”
Flanagan quoted his post, saying: “However, it’s no exaggeration to say that you provided the ultimate blueprint for success (in fact, it’s the understatement of the century). Thankee, sai.”
The Question Remains
With King’s lack of involvement, can the director succeed where the movie failed? Will the series finally do justice to its complex characters and intricate plot, or will fans once again be left disappointed? Will we get to see the characters portrayed as they were originally written?
A screenshot from the trailer to The Dark Tower – YouTube, Sony Pictures Entertainment
Only time will tell. If not, then fans still needn’t worry. After all, as Jake told Roland, “there are other worlds than these.”
What do you think? Is there hope for this series without Stephen King, or is the Dark Tower forever beyond reach? Let us know in the comments below.
Hopefully he would stop contributing to anything.
For some reason I can’t thumb’s you up so I’ll do it manual-like. 👍
Hopefully he actually does start contributing something worthwhile to society and quits with the work garbage.
Watch him as Jordy in “Creepshow” again. Not being an actor by trade, the true he was in that character. Unlikeable deutschbag then who’s aged like fine vinegar.
Which episode?
The one with the meteorite, where all the alien starts growing around his Maine shanty. From the movie.
Wasn’t that the very first one? That was such trash.
When the woke mind virus kicks in, it doesn’t matter how popular you used to be. You can be Stephen King or George R R Martin but you’ll never write a book ever again.
The first three Dark Tower books are quite good, although I’m not as big of a fan of number 2 as most. The fourth has a dumb Wizard of Oz framing story, but the flashback story is good. The final three were rushed because of the van accident, but fine to a point. The ending is horrible. It makes the whole saga a waste of time. I cannot recommend the series because of the insulting ending, where the author chides you for wanting one. The visceral hate I have for that ending is immense.