After strong whisperings of both Viggo Mortensen and Christian Bale being cast in the adaptation of Stephen King’s epic series The Dark Tower, news comes through that Javier Bardem has landed the lead part.
Deadline are reporting that the Spanish actor will play gunslinger Roland Deschain for director Ron Howard in the first of a projected trilogy of films. Scripted by Howard regular Akiva Goldsman, the story follows Deschain and his companions as they journeys across a post-apocalyptic, barren landscape in pursuit of a nemesis (The Man in Black) and on a quest to stop The Dark Tower from crumbling in order to save the universe.
This announcement has come a fortuitous time for Bardem who has only this week, became a father for the first time and received a Best Actor nomination for his performance in Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s Biutiful (which is out in UK cinemas this Friday).
