Fans of Stephen King have been holding out for a proper adaptation of his opus book series, The Dark Tower, for what feels like eons. The 2017 film version—starring Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey—failed to live up to expectations, but hope is not lost: Amazon is doing a TV series based on The Dark Tower, and it just found its two leads.
According to Deadline, Nightflyers actor Sam Strike will step into the role of Roland Deschain, the titular Gunslinger in the series’ first novel. He’ll be joined by BlacKkKlansman‘s Jasper Pääkkönen, a Finnish actor who is in talks to play the villainous Randall Flagg. (Deadline calls his character “Marten,” which is one of Flagg’s many identities.) The role of Roland was played by Elba in the film version, with McConaughey as Flagg.
The series, which is produced by MRC Studios, is said to be nearing an official pilot order at the streaming platform, and will follow the book series more closely than the 2017 film. For those unfamiliar, the book series is comprised of eight novels: The Gunslinger, The Drawing of the Three, The Waste Lands, Wizard and Glass, The Wind Through the Keyhole, Wolves of the Calla, Song of Susannah, and The Dark Tower. It’s a fantasy Western that follows Roland on his quest toward the Dark Tower, a mystical, time-bending structure. He’s also hunting the “Man in Black,” or Randall Flagg, a man who possess dark magical abilities.
No word yet on whether the series will be a sprawling, multi-season spectacle, or a finite miniseries, but we’re chomping at the bit either way. King fans have been burned by Dark Tower news before, but this one feels different somehow. Could we be on the verge of our first great Stephen King TV series?
We’ll keep you updated as more news rolls in about Amazon’s The Dark Tower.
Images: Pocket Books, Sony Pictures
