The Dark Tower reboot has been in the works for quite some time now. However, after several delays, Mike Flanagan has finally given some good news. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, the filmmaker revealed that work on the reboot is still underway. “It got stalled first because of the move from Netflix to Amazon, and then it got stalled because of the strikes,” he said. “It’s moving forward, and we’re further along on it than we’ve ever been.”
The Dark Tower is a series of eight books written by Stephen King that presents a blend of genres including dark fantasy, science fiction, horror, and western. The story follows a boy who is haunted by visions of a dark tower from a parallel reality. According to the official synopsis, he must team up with the tower’s frustrated guardian to stop an evil sorcerer known as the Man in Black, who plans to use the boy to destroy the tower and open the gates to Hell.
The book anthology was previously adapted into a film released in August 2017. Directed by Nikolaj Arcel, the film starred Idris Elba alongside Matthew McConaughey, Tom Taylor, and Claudia Kim. Ironically, while the film was a commercial hit, grossing $113.2 million at the global box office, it received largely negative reviews.
Criticism was mainly focused on the film’s attempt to compress several novels from the compilation into a short period of time. However, Elba’s performance was well received by audiences. Flanagan is now bringing a television adaptation of the sci-fi fantasy, which will include new elements but remain faithful to the original story.
At San Diego Comic-Con 2024, the director discussed the 2017 film and considered it a loss-making venture despite its financial success. “We failed on The Dark Tower,” he said at the event. “We tried to put the pieces together. Everybody had their own different vision.” According to Flanagan, everybody came to the film with their own hopes and dreams, but once everything was narrowed down “the result wasn’t much”.