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Draft:The Dark Tower (TV series)

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The Dark Tower
GenreFantasy
Created byMike Flanagan
Based onThe Dark Tower
by Stephen King
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producers
  • Mike Flanagan
  • Trevor Macy
Production companyIntrepid Pictures
Original release
NetworkAmazon Prime Video

The Dark Tower is an upcoming American fantasy streaming television based on the book series of the same name. The series was created and executive produced by Mike Flanagan, for Amazon Studios on Prime Video.

Development

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In April 2010, Universal Pictures was set to produce a trilogy of Dark Tower feature films, alternating with two seasons of a television series to bridge gaps between the films. The involved parties included Akiva Goldsman writing the script, Ron Howard directing, and also producing with Brian Grazer and Stephen King.[1] The report was made official by NBC Universal five months later via a press release dated September 8, 2010.[2] In an interview with Entertainment Weekly following the announcement, King stated that "I always thought it would take more than a single movie, but I didn't see this solution coming—i.e., several movies and TV series. It was Ron [Howard] and Akiva [Goldsman]'s idea. Once it was raised, I thought at once it was the solution."[3]

By April 2011, Mark Verheiden was joining the television portion of the project as executive producer and Akiva Goldsman's co-writer. However, just a month later, a report in Variety revealed that Universal may seek another studio's help, as the project's budget appeared to be more than they were willing to handle.[4] In October 2011, Howard confirmed the adaptation was still on track, noting that HBO would carry the television series.[5]

In September 2016, a television series based on the 2017 film of the same name was scheduled to be released in 2018, with Glen Mazzara as showrunner. Idris Elba and Tom Taylor were set to reprise their roles as Roland Deschain and Jake Chambers respectively. The series was intended to provide the backstory of the film, being based on Stephen King's The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass, The Dark Tower: The Wind Through the Keyhole and elements of The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger, with another actor playing young Roland, and Dennis Haysbert attached to return as Steven Deschain. Mazzara said that the series would explore "how Walter became the Man in Black, and how their rivalry cost Roland everything and everyone he ever loved", though Matthew McConaughey did not initially sign on for the series.[6][7]

While discussing the development of the series in the aftermath of the film's release, King expressed "we'll see what happens with that. It would be like a complete reboot, so we'll just have to see".[8] In February 2018, Amazon bought the rights to the series adaptation, though it was not made clear at first if Elba, Taylor or McConaughey would be involved.[9] In March 2019, it was confirmed that the series would serve as a reboot with Sam Strike and Jasper Pääkkönen being cast as Roland Deschain and The Man in Black respectively.[10] In January 2020, Amazon decided not to move forward with the pilot, allowing production company MRC to shop the pilot scripts to other studios.[11]

In December 2022, Mike Flanagan announced that he had acquired the rights to adapt the books for a streaming series on Amazon and had plans for a multi season release, alongside Trevor Macy's Intrepid Pictures.[12] In June 2023, Flanagan said he was optimistic about Amazon approving the series after the 2023 writer's strike.[13] By August 2023, development on the series was suspended due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike.[14]

References

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  1. ^ Mike Fleming Jr (April 30, 2010). "Stephen King's 'Dark Tower' Set For Film Trilogy, TV Series By 'Beautiful Mind' Trio". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015.
  2. ^ "UNIVERSAL PICTURES AND NBC UNIVERSAL TELEVISION ENTERTAINMENT TO MAKE FILM TRILOGY AND TELEVISION SERIES BASED ON STEPHEN KING'S EPIC SERIES OF NOVELS THE DARK TOWER" (PDF). September 22, 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 22, 2010. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
  3. ^ "Stephen King exclusive: Who should star in 'The Dark Tower'? 'The Twilight cast, of course!'". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on June 17, 2015.
  4. ^ Abrams, Rachel; Kroll, Justin (May 6, 2011). "U weighs 'Dark Tower' options". Variety. Archived from the original on September 8, 2015.
  5. ^ "'Dark Tower' Heading To HBO, Says Brian Grazer". MTV. Archived from the original on January 11, 2012.
  6. ^ "'The Dark Tower' TV Series Will Adapt Stephen King's 'Wizard and Glass'". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on September 22, 2016. Retrieved November 28, 2019.
  7. ^ White, James (August 3, 2017). "'Walking Dead' Veteran Glen Mazzara To Run 'The Dark Tower' TV Series". Empire. Retrieved November 28, 2019.
  8. ^ Buchanan, Kyle (September 25, 2017). "Stephen King on His New Netflix Movies, 'It', and His Big Year". Vulture. Retrieved November 28, 2019.
  9. ^ Saavedra, John (March 31, 2018). "The Dark Tower TV Series Release Date, Story Details, and Everything Else We Know". Den of Geek. Dennis Publishing. Archived from the original on September 22, 2018. Retrieved November 28, 2019.
  10. ^ Otterson, Joe (March 21, 2019). "'Dark Tower' Pilot at Amazon Casts Jasper Pääkkönen, Sam Strike". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved November 28, 2019.
  11. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (January 15, 2020). "'The Dark Tower' Series Adaptation Not Going Forward At Amazon". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved March 15, 2020.
  12. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (December 8, 2022). "Mike Flanagan & Trevor Macy Reveal 'The Dark Tower' Adaptation In Works At Intrepid, Talk Leaving Netflix For Amazon, 'Midnight Club's Cancellation & More". Deadline. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
  13. ^ Hamman, Cody (June 15, 2023). "The Dark Tower: Mike Flanagan is optimistic that his Stephen King series is going to happen". JoBlo. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
  14. ^ Humphrey, Julia (August 9, 2023). "Mike Flanagan Says He's Made "Enormous Progress" on 'The Dark Tower' Series". Collider. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
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