Get ready to witness the battle to save the multiverse. The first trailer for The Dark Tower was released on Wednesday. Idris Elba and Matthew McCounaghey starred in the anticipated adaptation of Stephen King’s Dark Tower, which will hit theaters on August 4.
The trailer gives away so much more that what we’ll see in the movie. Rumors of a TV show are also revolving around the anticipated movie debut.
The third time’s the charm
Stephen King‘s eight book fantasy-Western epic story is finally hitting theaters and is oh-so-exciting! The Dark Tower adaptation was initially set to be adapted by Lost collaborators, Carlton Cuse, Damon Lindelof and J.J Abrams. Then in 2010, Ron Howard, Akiva Goldsman and Brian Grazer, the trio behind The DaVinci Code, came up with a project starring Javier Bardem but the deal fell apart a year later.
Then the team found a new star, and a new studio and everything was back on track. But the movie release has been delayed twice, from February to July and now August.
Under the direction of Nikolaj Arcel is best known for his film The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, the Dark Tower film has finally gone into shooting and we can finally catch a glimpse of Idris Elba in full Gunslinger and Matthew McCounaghey as his nemesis the Man in Black.
The trailer looks damn good. It shows us an eleven years old kid, Jake Chambers, who keeps having visions of two men. Jake suddenly discovers that there are worlds beyond these worlds.
Jake travels to another world, the Mid-World where he meets the Gunslinger whose chasing the Man in Black and seeking for revenge. Soon they find themselves in a quest for saving the Dark Tower and all the worlds in existence.
The Dark Tower world has a lot of King’s novels in it
The Dark Tower is a series of eight novels written between 1982 and 2004. King has explained that the books were born out of Tolkien’s Middle-earth. The author inspired by Tolkien’s Lord of the Ring and his fantasy novel.
However, the American writer also found inspiration in the Western film The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. He said, “I realized that what I wanted to write was a novel that contained Tolkien’s sense of quest and magic, but set against Leone’s almost absurdly majestic Western backdrop.”
The first four books were published every four to six years. But after being hit by a car and nearly dying in 1999, King decided to finish the saga. The final three books were published in 2003 and 2004.
The series is the backbone of King’s oeuvre as characters from The Dark Tower frequently appear in other stories by the author, and vice versa.In fact, the trailer shows some of these references. During the therapist’s office scene, there’s a reference to the Overlook Hotel from The Shining in a picture.
Later, we catch a glimpse of Pennywise the Clown from It as what seems to be a dilapidated carnival attraction bears his name.The Dark Tower movie has been called a sequel or continuation of the entire novel series. And the trailer pretty much confirms this.
Not only the events in the movie are portrayed in a different way but also the film takes place in our own world, which means that the film could be an adaptation of The Gunslinger but a continuation of the story at the same time.
Also, there’s a scene in the movie that’s part of the last book. In the scene, the Gunslinger opens the door at the top of the Dark Tower. Also, in the same scene, we don’t see the Horn of Eld, which he had with him at the end of the series.
King has also spoken about the movie as a continuation rather than a remake of the series. Also, he has already predicted that the project “may upset some of the fans a little bit.”
More to come
Word has it that depending on how The Dark Tower does at the box office more project will come from it. It will probably be part of a strategy similar to what Marvel’s doing with its films. Meaning films and shows will come from it.It doesn’t seem that crazy, after all, we’re talking about an eight book series. Allegedly, a follow-up tv show starring Idris Elba and Taylor is in talks.
According to Entertainment Weekly, a show based on Wizard and Glass, the fourth novel of The Dark Tower series, will come up.The show would follow the Gunslinger’s youth, including his graduation, first adventure and his one true love, Susan. Elba wouldn’t be cast in this one and cast is yet to be known.
It’d be fair to say that we’re in the middle of a Hollywood Stephen-mania. This year remake of ‘It’ will hit theaters and now The Dark Tower. However, King has always served as inspiration for shows and films.
The Dark Tower premieres on August 4.
Source: UPI