We heard back in June that filming had begun on the pilot for an Amazon Studios series based on Stephen King's The Dark Tower saga… which also served as inspiration for a disappointing movie a couple years ago. Developed by Glen Mazzara, Akiva Goldsman, and King himself, the series is meant to be a more faithful retelling of the novels. At first it will be telling
Roland Deschain's origin story – how he first became a gunslinger and got his guns, his first conflict with the man in black, his first love and his first mission as a gunslinger.
LEATHERFACE's Sam Strike will be playing Roland on this show, with Jasper Pääkkönen as The Man in Black and Michael Rooker in an unspecified but potentially villainous role.
One thing we didn't hear was the name of the person who was directing the pilot. Now Deadline has let that information slip as a quick mention in an article about an entirely different project. According to them, the first episode of The Dark Tower has been directed by Stephen Hopkins.
A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 5: THE DREAM CHILD is the first movie that comes to my mind when I think of Hopkins, but he has been working on notable projects at a steady pace ever since that one. His other credits include PREDATOR 2; JUDGMENT NIGHT; BLOWN AWAY (the Jeff Bridges movie, not the one with the Coreys); a few episode of Tales from the Crypt; THE GHOST AND THE DARKNESS; LOST IN SPACE 1998; multiple episodes of 24, including that show's pilot; and THE REAPING.
I think Hopkins is a decent choice for The Dark Tower, and I really hope this show will honor the source material. It's expected to reach Amazon Prime sometime in 2020.