MRC, the company behind the upcoming adaptation of Stephen King’s “Dark Tower” series, has revealed that they will be producing a companion television series. The series will lay out the events of the fourth book in the series “Wizard and Glass” which takes place both before and after the events of “The Gunslinger.”
In the novel, Roland and his Ka-Tet encounter a thinny, a breakdown of the barrier between worlds. As they travel, the group sit to listen as Roland tells of the first time he encountered a thinny in his younger years while on mission from his father to the barony of Mejis. Roland’s tale serves as a prequel to the rest of the tale but is framed within the larger narrative.
MRC has confirmed that the series will be between ten and thirteen episodes depending on how the scripts unfold and Elba has committed to reprise his role as the gunslinger Roland Deschain along with Tom Taylor, who plays Jake Chambers. Additionally, a younger actor will be cast to play the younger version of Roland as he lives out the memory of his time in Mejis and the budding romance with Susan Delgado that still weighs heavy on his heart so many years later.
MRC has also confirmed that the character of the man in black will be present though they have not yet confirmed the involvement of Matthew McConaughey. Because of the nature of the character, often taking on different names and appearances, there is potential for the character to be portrayed by another actor all-together.
For those in the know, the film adaptation of “The Dark Tower” serves less as a direct adaptation than a direct sequel to the book series. We won’t spoil what that means if you’ve not yet read the book series but what it means for the movie adaptations is that they aren’t beholden to follow the plot of the books exactly. Akiva Goldsman, producer and co-screenwriter, has stated however that the television series will follow the events of “Wizard and Glass” more closely.
“In the movie, Roland is suffering tremendous loss. The most concrete, personal, existential heartbreak a character can have. If the movie chronicles his final reach toward hope again, the TV show is the loss of that hope. This one has much more fidelity to the story as King wrote it.”
MRC is currently on the hunt for a distributor but isn’t waiting to lock that down before moving forward. The series is set to begin shooting next year with an eye toward release in 2018. Because of the nature of the story it is likely that the series will find a home on cable or through a streaming service like Netflix.
This announcement, in advance of the release of the first film, shows an abundance of confidence in the success of the series as a whole. While the fate of the series on the screen has been in limbo, much as the fate of the worlds in King’s quintessential story, it seems that at last the fate of the tower is secure.
You say true, I say thankya.
Cassidy Ward is a internet writer and author. His short story “The Staircase” is available now on Amazon.