Things looked bleak for Ron Howard, Brian Grazer and Akiva Goldsman’s attempt to bring Stephen King’s epic Dark Tower series to both cinema and TV screens when Universal decided to pass on the idea last July. But the power trio swore they would not give up, and it looks like they might just have a champion riding in, with Warner Bros. now in talks to make at least one film.
According to Deadline, the studio bought Goldsman’s script for the first movie and has asked him to take another pass on it. Howard is still on board to direct and, assuming he still wants to be involved and is available whenever shooting starts (possibly early next year) Javier Bardem remains the director's first choice for gunslinger Roland Deschain.
It seems a little odd that Howard and co would agree to just one film after that was one of the main sticking points with Universal. But it might just come down to Warners offering the best shot to get it made. The project is already a gamble, without the added pressure of trying to birth a trilogy (and TV series) at once.
Grazer has talked up the idea for the TV element (which was to span the time between three films and saw Goldsman collaborating with Battlestar Galactica veteran Mark Verheiden) moving to HBO. Since Warners owns HBO, a new world of possibilities opens up. So how do you feel now? Excited that this might finally happen? Or worried that it could be a little too unwieldy to work properly?