Miraculously, theDark TowerTV series is still happening at Amazon—albeit as more of a reboot than a continuation of the film franchise. The long-in-the-worksStephen Kingadaptation finally came to fruition in 2017, after previous efforts by directors likeJ.J. AbramsandRon Howardfailed to coalesce. The resulting film foundIdris Elbain the lead role of Roland Deschain andMatthew McConaugheyas the villain Walter Padick aka the Man in Black, but ultimately directorNikolaj Arcel’s film—which “remixed” King’s sprawling book series—failed to impress critics or audiences.
The idea was for the film to spur a three-movie franchise, with two seasons of a TV series filling in the gaps. Said TV series is still at go at Amazon, but instead of filling in said gaps, it appears the show is just a total reboot ofThe Dark Towerfrom the ground up.
PerVariety, actorSam Strike(Nightflyers) has been cast in theDark Towerpilot as Roland Deschain, whileJasper Pääkkönen(BlacKkKlansman) will play The Man in Black. The series will be an origin story, telling how Roland first became the gunslinger and recounting his initial encounter with the villainous Man in Black.
The show is said to be a “more faithful” adaptation of King’s sprawling book series, and formerThe Walking DeadshowrunnerGlen Mazzarais onboard to executive produce and serve as showrunner. MRC is producing, but there’s no mention of Ron Howard’s Imagine Entertainment, which had previously tried to set the TV component up at HBO when Howard was going to direct the movies.
The Dark Toweris the latest in a series of big gambles for Amazon Studios, which is trying to get into the game of “tentpole” TV series a laGame of Thrones. In addition toThe Dark Tower(which sounds like it’s only been ordered to pilot at this point), Amazon also has theLord of the RingsTV series in development. No word on when either might premiere just yet.
