For years, Imagine Entertainment had been trying to mount an ambitious plan to adapt Stephen King’s epic The Dark Tower book series, into long-form storytelling that would span both film and television. A couple of years ago, director Ron Howard and producer Brian Grazer got dangerously close to getting the revolutionary project off of the ground, with Javier Bardem rumored to be the lead. The project fell through and it seemed that all parties had moved on.
Sony Pictures has been looking for new, lucrative brands and franchises in the aftermath of the Sony hack which crippled the movie studio. Tom Rothman is the newly appointed head of Sony and he has been aggressively greenlighting projects ranging from Robotech to the Ghostbusters relaunch, in an effort to resuscitate the wavering studio. It looks like he has found his next gamble in The Dark Tower, according to THR.
King’s Western-style fantasy series is set mostly in an alternate world that’s heavy on magic and centers on a man who is part of a knightly order of gunslingers. Akiva Goldsman, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer and Erica Huggins, who have been trying to mount the project for close to a decade, are producing. The project has a new script co-written by Goldsman and Jeff Pinkner. Insiders say the new script, which adapts the first book of the series, Gunslinger, has been totally reconceived by the duo from the version that had been previously developed.
The Dark Tower is a risky proposition. The original plan was to film the movie and then to save the sets for the TV show. Unlike the Marvel cinematic universe, The Dark Tower would require the viewer follow the single story on both mediums, which would be an unprecedented gamble. However, if they develop a show and film on par with The Walking Dead, they could possibly create a sensation.
The Dark Tower follows a gunslinger who is on a quest to find the mythical tower, through a post-apocalyptic wasteland. The story is a combination of genres including westerns, science fiction, and fantasy. A director has not been officially named, however Howard was previously attached to direct at least the first installment. Finding someone who has the skill and vision to helm such a huge project is paramount and we will keep you up to date on the latest developments and castings for The Dark Tower.
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Source: Joblo