The Dark Tower: Ron Howard Still Developing TV Series
The Dark Tower seems to be a franchise beset by delays but Ron Howard says the TV series is still moving ahead. The book series was a huge hit for Stephen King, and remains a fan-favorite. Though The Dark Tower naturally lends itself to a big screen adaptation, the very idea of a movie has hit many a bump in the road, before the idea eventually became a reality over at Sony Pictures.
Starring Idris Elba as The Gunslinger, and Matthew McConaughey as The Man in Black, The Dark Tower is set to be released on August 4th. That date has changed twice; it was originally set for February of this year, and then July, but now, August it is. However, we have yet to see any promotion for the movie other than a poster (which was rather good). No teaser, no trailer, no snippets of footage, nothing. Footage that was shown to press at CinemaCon was warmly received, but it was also noted that it was unfinished, which means Sony really needs to get moving.
Fans, who are highly anticipating the arrival of The Dark Tower, are beginning to wonder what the deal is here, and also, what happened to the idea of an accompanying TV series? To be produced by Ron Howard, the original idea was that a TV series would focus on Wizard and Glass, the fourth book of King’s Dark Tower series, and a self-contained prequel within itself. Elba and McConaughey were rumored to be on board to feature in part, alongside casting of their younger selves.
Since all has gone quiet on the movie front, many have assumed plans for the series are shelved, but speaking to TV Guide, Howard reassured fans that the project is still very much in development:
Quote:
“Dark Tower is coming out this summer. It’s a terrific movie directed by Nikolaj Arcel. And we are working on the television component. That’s not a commitment on the television side, but creatively, it could work very well, hand in hand with what we’d like the movies to be.”
In essence, Howard is reiterating what we already knew. The Dark Tower TV series hasn’t been picked up by any network as yet, though it could be at home somewhere like HBO, or even on Netflix or Hulu. The likelihood of that pickup will ultimately rest with the success of the movie. If fans clamor for more stories of Roland and his Ka-Tet, then networks will soon be locked in a bidding war to bring one of King’s most popular works to their channel.
If Sony fails to get going with some serious promotion for The Dark Tower, though, then the movie could fail spectacularly, which will be a real shame since the story is so worthy of a big (and small) screen retelling. This is the year for King adaptations – an It remake is arriving in September, Castle Rock is coming to Hulu, Gerald’s Game will arrive on Netflix sometime this year, too, and The Mist will air on Spike this summer. There’s the momentum and passion all in place, now all Sony needs to do is capitalize on that and in turn, Howard’s TV series will get made. It’s what’s known in The Dark Tower as Ka.
source: http://screenrant.com/dark-tower-tv-...te-ron-howard/
