In 2017, Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey starred in The Dark Tower, based on Stephen King’s novel series. The film was supposed to start a film franchise, but a poor box office return and negative reviews killed any chances of a sequel. The Dark Tower will now receive another shot at redemption with a live-action television series from Mike Flanagan at Amazon.
On an episode of Script Apart, Flanagan spoke about how the film’s failure damaged future adaptations of the material, including a planned television series. The led to Flanagan taking an entirely different approach to The Dark Tower, and one he hopes will work out.
“[My Dark Tower adaptation] couldn’t be more different [from the movie]. That was the wrong approach to the material, kind of across the board,” Flanagan said. “And it was such the wrong approach that I think it kind of salted the earth for anyone else who wanted to plant something under the Dark Tower banner for who knows how long. But that’s what we’re running into trying to get the show going, is the movie did an enormous amount of damage to the potential [of] getting another iteration up.”
RELATED: Mike Flanagan Will Adapt Stephen King’s The Dark Tower For Amazon
“And they were able to overcome it for an Amazon [Studios] series that took another, different approach again — that is very different than the one I am proposing — and that didn’t get off the ground,” Flanagan continued. “So that has also directly impacted — and I’m at Amazon! That’s my studio now for television, and I can understand going to them and saying ‘Hey, would you like to walk exactly down the same title that you spent all this money on, that you still feel bruised from.’ I understand the issues.”
This is not the first time Amazon will try its hand at a Dark Tower series. Glen Mazzara was hired to create a Dark Tower television series in 2017. However, Amazon eventually passed on the series. Now, Amazon passes the fantasy series to Flanagan, who has more experience developing King’s works, including Gerald’s Game and Doctor Sleep.
Are you excited to see Flanagan’s interpretation of The Dark Tower? Let us know in the comment section below!
Recommended Reading: The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger
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