Ka is a wheel and that wheel has spun long and slow for the proposed film adaptation of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series. For almost a decade, producers Akiva Goldsman, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, and Erica Huggins have effortlessly tried to bring the popular novels to the silver screen. Now, Sony and MRC are coming together to produce and co-finance what they hope to be their latest franchise for film and television (via The Hollywood Reporter).
The series follows gunslinger Roland Deschain, who must travel through an alternate universe full of magic and evil forces to reach the mysterious and all-encompassing Dark Tower. King penned the first book, The Gunslinger, in 1982 and published six more entries over two decades, concluding with 2004’s The Dark Tower. He has since revisited the world with his other works, in addition to side stories and a 2012 companion novel.
Both Sony and MRC hope to spread out the story over various films and an accompanying TV series — similar to what the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been doing lately. Goldsman and screenwriter Jeff Pinkner have rewritten their script of The Gunslinger and the search has begun for a filmmaker. As of now, it’s unclear whether Russell Crowe, who was once attached to the role of Deschain, is still involved.
“There are few projects out there that compare with the scope, vision, complex characters and fully drawn world that Stephen King has created with The Dark Tower,” said Tom Rothman, the new chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group. “I am a giant fan. And, as Stephen himself does, we love the direction that Akiva and Jeff have taken. This is a great opportunity for a director to put his or her stamp on a cool global franchise.”
In related news, Consequence of Sound plotted out King’s whole cinematic universe last December. Thankee sai.
