Next February, The Dark Tower will reach the big screen after years of delays. Rather than being a straightforward adaptation of the Stephen King series of novels, the movie will serve as a sequel of sorts which should be accessible to franchise newcomers and hardcore fans alike. If that sounds hard to follow, you can find more details about what to expect here.
Regardless, it has now been confirmed that MRC has committed to making between 10 – 13 episodes of a prequel series which will serve as a direct adaptation of Wizard and Glass.
Without spoiling anything, that novel essentially told Roland Deschain’s (Idris Elba) origin story as we learned how he went from being an optimistic youngster who had just become a Gunslinger to the hardened killer who led his ka-tet to The Dark Tower in the novels. As a result, the plan is to cast a younger actor as this version of Roland, but Elba will still appear.
He’s signed up to appear alongside Tom Taylor (who will play Jake Chambers in the movie) as a framing device of sorts. The hope is to find a cable or online streaming service for The Dark Tower spinoff due to the adult nature of the material. Matthew McConaughey hasn’t been confirmed as reprising the role of The Man in Black, but given that character’s habit of changing his appearance, that may not ultimately end up mattering to this series too much.
MRC is clearly confident in the chances of the movie succeeding given their commitment to this show, but it does have all the makings of a hit to be fair. Entertainment Weekly also mentions that future seasons could adapt events only mentioned in King’s The Dark Tower novels like the Battle of Jericho Hill, so this series could be around for a long time to come.
