# The Dark Tower movie and TV series **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 9, 2010, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dark-tower-movie-and-tv-series/553158 "2010-09-09T08:21:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2010, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dark-tower-movie-and-tv-series/553158/21 "2010-09-10T23:28:36Z")
> [@](#): > > Dark Tower’s Massive Movie, TV Adaptation > [@](#): > > Deadline is reporting that Universal Pictures and NBC Universal Television Entertainment have closed a deal to adapt the famous Stephen King book series as both a movie trilogy and a TV series, which will be developed and produced together. > > As reported back in April, the team behind A Beautiful Mind and The Da Vinci Code – Ron Howard, Akiva Goldsman and Brian Grazer – are behind the adaptation, but it is only now being 100 percent confirmed that the rumored TV series is part of the deal. > > A feature film will start things off, with the first TV season being used to bridge the first and second movies. Deadline notes this means the cast of the film trilogy – including a yet to be cast big name star as the main character, Roland Deschain – will be committing to appear in the TV series as well, which is, obviously, a very unusual scenario. After the second film is released, the second season of the TV series would then focus on the younger Deschain, before the third and final film picks up with the older Deschain and finishes his story. The storylines will also be influenced by the Dark Tower prequel comic book series that King helped plot. > **[Movie Reviews, Trailers, Interviews, Wikis & Posters for Movies - IGN](https://www.ign.com/movies)** > > IGN is the leading site for movies with expert reviews, trailers, interviews, news, wikis, cast pictures, release dates and movie posters Also, a link to a Stephen King interview on the subject: > **[Movie Reviews, Trailers, Interviews, Wikis & Posters for Movies - IGN](https://www.ign.com/movies)** > > IGN is the leading site for movies with expert reviews, trailers, interviews, news, wikis, cast pictures, release dates and movie posters I honestly don’t know what I think, except that I sure wish Leone and Kurosawa could get together to make this. Anyone else…wow. I just don’t know. Edit…Doh. The link was in another thread. I didn’t mean to bring old news \>.\< ---
**Author:** ![sleestak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@sleestak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleestak)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dark-tower-movie-and-tv-series/553158/22 "2010-09-11T00:19:28Z")
This is rather amazing: [Linky](http://www.deadline.com/2010/09/universal-lands-stephen-kings-the-dark-tower-and-plans-unprecedented-featurenetwork-tv-adaptation/). Ron Howard is going to direct the first film and the first season of the t.v. show. Holy Crap. I never thought it’d be made as a movie. Slee ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dark-tower-movie-and-tv-series/553158/23 "2010-09-11T00:35:12Z")
[Thread 1](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=577612) [Thread 2](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=577816) ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dark-tower-movie-and-tv-series/553158/24 "2010-09-11T00:36:25Z")
[We’re over here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=577612). ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dark-tower-movie-and-tv-series/553158/25 "2010-09-11T00:37:54Z")
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**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dark-tower-movie-and-tv-series/553158/26 "2010-09-11T00:38:44Z")
Merged threads. Three of them. ---
**Author:** ![TheBoltEater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@TheBoltEater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheBoltEater)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dark-tower-movie-and-tv-series/553158/27 "2010-09-11T06:43:00Z")
This could obviously be a complete disaster, and I wouldn’t have picked Ron Howard as my first choice director, but I have to say that I do love the _idea_ of the 3-films-and-2-tv-seasons format. Now let’s just get some good news about casting. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dark-tower-movie-and-tv-series/553158/28 "2010-09-11T18:50:45Z")
The best screen adaptations of King’s work has been by Frank Darabont. Why don’t they go with someone they _know_ can do ‘King’? ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2010, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dark-tower-movie-and-tv-series/553158/29 "2010-09-12T01:11:05Z")
Thanks for mixing the threads 🙂 I like the Lance Reddick look. And I agree that it could go either way. While the chances of it being anything like what a reader would like \, there’s also the chance of it consolidating all the ‘good stuff’, and weeding out some of the stuff that makes people not like it. So…someone who couldn’t get through the first book might actually LIKE an adaptation and consolidates stuff, and that consolidation might actually not piss off every reader. (No matter what, someone’s gonna hate it, but c’est l’art. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2010, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dark-tower-movie-and-tv-series/553158/30 "2010-09-12T01:19:58Z")
I am fascinated by the idea of movies and television working together to tell a story. Having a movie release, then a television series, then another movie, and on and on, seems like an interesting way of doing things. Sure there have been tv shows telling stories after movies (Clone Wars), or movies following up television shows (Sex in the City atrocities), but I’m intrigued by doing them together as one huge project. Seems like it could be the next step in entertainment. Of course if they chose another work, I’d be more interested. The massive amounts of padding in the Dark Tower series is enough to make me lose interest. But still, a fascinating idea. ---
**Author:** ![Doxy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f14d63/32.png) [@Doxy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doxy)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2010, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dark-tower-movie-and-tv-series/553158/31 "2010-09-12T03:44:05Z")
> [@Turek](#): > > Apparently, it’s too much story for one medium: > > [http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100908/tv\_nm/us\_darktower](http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100908/tv_nm/us_darktower) > > On the one hand, I’m thrilled because I’ve always wondered what it’d be like as a movie (not to mention the oft-debated question of who would play Roland) and Ron Howard is directing the first movie. > > On the other hand, a LOT of SK stuff makes crappy movies. > > **On the gripping hand,** the stuff from SK that makes good movies is the stuff that’s less horror-based… and The Dark Tower definitely fits that bill. > > We’ll have to wait and see if it comes to fruition and what the result looks like. Dude! You’re AWESOME!! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2010, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dark-tower-movie-and-tv-series/553158/32 "2010-09-12T04:35:52Z")
> [@ExTank](#): > > The best screen adaptations of King’s work has been by Frank Darabont. > > Why don’t they go with someone they _know_ can do ‘King’? He’s busy on the set of “The Walking Dead”, isn’t he? (Yeah - a lot of people didn’t like it, but I thought “The Mist” was well adapated.) ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2010, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dark-tower-movie-and-tv-series/553158/33 "2010-09-12T04:43:55Z")
I know I have enjoyed a lot of Stephen King over the years, sometimes guiltily, but the first three books of The Dark Tower have some of his best descriptive prose. Honestly, the scene with the ancient oil wells still wells up in my imagination from time to time. But, I am a little strange. After all, I hang out here, right? ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2010, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dark-tower-movie-and-tv-series/553158/34 "2010-09-12T12:08:11Z")
The suggestion that Ryan Reynolds play Eddie is bizaree to me. I love Reynolds but Eddie isn;t even in the ballpark of that attractive and athletic. Eddie is a far more mundane and overwhelmed by this stuff, he’s not a action hero. I’m thinking someone of the Paul Rudd mold would be way closer to the mark. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2010, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dark-tower-movie-and-tv-series/553158/35 "2010-09-12T13:12:11Z")
Eddie is supposed to be very good-looking - it’s mentioned a few times. Plus, after a few months walking with Roland and the gang, I’d think he’s be in pretty good shape. And Eddie may not start out as an action hero, but he certainly ends up one. How about Jensen Ackles? He’s got the whole “working-class smartass” thing working for him. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2010, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dark-tower-movie-and-tv-series/553158/36 "2010-09-12T17:23:53Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Eddie is supposed to be very good-looking - it’s mentioned a few times. Plus, after a few months walking with Roland and the gang, I’d think he’s be in pretty good shape. Was he? Because of the junkie factor I always pictured him as emaciated looking. ---
**Author:** ![rolandgunslinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cdc98d/32.png) [@rolandgunslinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rolandgunslinger)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2010, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dark-tower-movie-and-tv-series/553158/37 "2010-09-12T17:40:30Z")
I always thought a younger Adam Sandler would be perfect for Eddie. That’s who I always pictured when reading the books. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2010, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dark-tower-movie-and-tv-series/553158/38 "2010-09-12T18:43:03Z")
A young Willem DeFoe would have been great for Eddie. Heck, why can’t he be Eddie now? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2010, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dark-tower-movie-and-tv-series/553158/39 "2010-09-12T18:45:26Z")
> [@jackdavinci](#): > > > [@Alessan](#): > > > > Eddie is supposed to be very good-looking - it’s mentioned a few times. Plus, after a few months walking with Roland and the gang, I’d think he’s be in pretty good shape. > > Was he? Because of the junkie factor I always pictured him as emaciated looking. The book said specifically that he hadn’t been using heroin that long, and that withdrawal symptoms aside, it hadn’t really affected his looks (which every woman they met was striken by). I think people are focusing too much on the Eddie of Book 2 instead of the Eddie of the rest of the series. Yes, he started out as a scared junkie; but by the middle of the Waste Lands he was already well on his way to being a gunslinger, and by the end of the series, he was one of the four toughest mofos in the multiverse. Lots of actors can play sweaty junkies, with the right makeup - far fewer can play convincing badasses. I think we should look for a badass action star, and work back from there. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2010, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dark-tower-movie-and-tv-series/553158/40 "2010-09-12T18:49:11Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > \ > How about Jensen Ackles? He’s got the whole “working-class smartass” thing working for him. I’m used to seeing Jensen as Dean, but you [might be on to something](http://img.atpictures.com/images2/jensenackles/JensenAckles_Spellman_1120152.jpg) (I had to see him with a different hair-do). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dark-tower-movie-and-tv-series/553158.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dark-tower-movie-and-tv-series/553158.md?page=3)