Source: Deadline | Collider | Posted By: Dan Geer
Back in April, PCM posted an article about the possibility of either Universal or Warner Brothers making a TV series that ties into a film trilogy based on Stephen King’s The Dark Tower book series. It was also said that at least some of this whole thing would be directed by Ron Howard, and that Brian Grazer and Akiva Goldsman would be producing along with Stephen King.
Well, Universal has won the battle and it is now official; The Dark Tower is happening! Find out more after the jump!
It is officially confirmed that the plan is to produce a TV series that ties into a theatrical film trilogy. Here are the details, according to Deadline:
The plan is to start with the feature film, and then create a bridge to the second feature with a season of TV episodes. That means the feature cast—and the big star who’ll play Deschain—also has to appear in the TV series before returning to the second film. After that sequel is done, the TV series picks up again, this time focusing on Deschain as a young gunslinger. Those storylines will be informed by a prequel comic book series that King was heavily involved in plotting. The third film would pick up the mature Deshain as he completes his journey. They will benefit from being able to use the same sets cast and crew for the movie and TV, which could help contain costs on what will be a financially ambitious undertaking.
Ron Howard will, in fact, be directing the first film of the trilogy as well as the first season of the TV series, which will air on NBC. Akiva Goldsman will write the screenplay and Brian Grazer, who is partners with Howard at Imagine Entertainment, will indeed produce the project along with Stephen King. It is unclear if Howard and Goldsman will continue their roles as director and writer after both the first feature film and the first season of the TV series are completed, but my guess is that they will be involved in some capacity throughout the whole production.
Since I have not personally read the books, it is hard to say for sure if this approach is the best way to go. I think doing three films plus two seasons of a TV series could possibly allow for the story to be fleshed out in such a way that does the books justice, since, from what I have been told, The Dark Tower is extremely dense in its storytelling. From what it sounds like in the article from Deadline, they seem to have the right mentality on how to go about it.
On the other hand, a friend of mine, who is a huge fan of the books, thinks that the approach of using up a whole season of the TV series to focus on Deschain as a young gunslinger would probably divert the focus away from the story in the books, since it is prequel material from the comic series that Stephen King was involved with. This might inadvertently force them to cut out much of what the fans consider to be important plot elements from the books. Take that bit of info for what you will…
Anyhow, I am definitely looking forward to seeing how this all turns out. Hopefully it will be enjoyable to both fans and non-fans alike.
You can head on over to Deadline for the full article, and also read the press release over at Collider.
