Only a few weeks ago we heard rumblings that director and all around Stephen King adaptor Frank Darabont was interested in bringing King’s THE DARK TOWER series to life, though nothing ‘official’ was in place. Today The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that THE DARK TOWER is going to be made… but Darabont is nowhere in site!
Since Darabont’s da man when it comes to King adaptations, my heart sunk a little, as THE DARK TOWER series is one of my favorite book series of all time, and I don’t want just any schmuck f*cking it up. But then I learned that J.J. Abrams is the man behind this feature, and my hopes for a kick-ass adaptation rose through the roof!
Yes, Abrams and King are teaming up together to bring THE DARK TOWER to life, the only unanswered question at this point…. will it be for T.V., or for the Big Screen? Abrams’ Bad Robot production company has a first look deal with either Paramount (if it goes theatrical) or Warner Bros. (if it goes TV), though nothing is official or confirmed with either of them at this point.
For this series in particular, I see it going either way. If they decide to go theatrical, they’d have to bust it out LORD OF THE RINGS style, and make at least 3 films to bring the whole thing to life (though the book series consists of 7 books, so no doubt there’d be a lot missing). This way, since the budget would likely be through the roof, they could at least make it back and then some, depending on how successful it is. If it goes TV, they could likely stretch it into 5-6 4 hour ‘episodes’, though the scale would be a little less, and the potential for profit would go down the drain…
Least to say, it’s a tough decision, but with Abrams on board (confirmed as producer, though it’s still up in the air if he’ll direct), count me in! I really dig LOST (and apparently, so does King, which is likely why Abrams is the guy to bring THE TOWER to life), and I found MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: 3 to be a kick in the pants- and loved every second of it. Stick around as we find out whether THE DARK TOWER is brought to us in theatrical or made-for-TV glory, as you’ll be the first to know when we do!
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