A month ago, we reported that Ron Howard and Brian Grazer were focused on closing the deal to have Javier Bardem headline their wildly ambitious plans to adapt Stephen King‘s 7-novel series, The Dark Tower. Now it looks like Bardem is in the final stages of the deal, and will shortly sign off on playing Roland Deschain, The Gunslinger. [Deadline]
There are varying degrees of skepticism about whether or not Howard and Grazer’s ambitions will actually pan out, not to mention whether or not screenwriter Akiva Goldsman will be able to pare this monstrous saga down to a digestible cinematic length.
The one point we can all agree on is that Bardem, who won an Oscar for his deeply unsettling performance in No Country For Old Men, is a marvelous actor. Back in March, Grazer had this to say to MTV on the subject of Bardem:
“He’s locked in psychologically,” Grazer said. “He really wants to do it, so we’re absolutely rooting for him to do it.”
According to reports, the deal is so close to finalization that “Howard has begun meeting with other actors to cast the roles around Bardem.” Having read all seven novels, as well as the prequel novella and the various other stories in King’s canon which contain bits and pieces of the overall Dark Tower tapestry, I can tell you that they’ve got their work cut out for them. The first book is all Roland, but he quickly links up with a New York junkie from the 80’s and a paraplegic socialite from New York of the 60’s… not to mention the Man in Black. This will have to work as an ensemble, and the casting of the supporting players will be crucial to the overall success of this grand, multi-platform behemoth.
The plan is for a film trilogy with a limited-run TV series in between the films. On the surface, this sounds acceptable – that should be plenty of time to develop the characters and story lines, which grow increasingly tangled at the overall plot thickens. Bardem’s deal – besides being his biggest payday so far – calls for him to star in the first film, the two sequels, and the prequel TV series. Not only is the scope of this adaptation kind of amazing, the notion that Bardem is committing to a project of this size is possibly unprecedented.
One of the most heartening aspects of Howard, Grazer and Goldsman’s approach is to have their Dark Tower series function as an answer to Peter Jackson‘s Lord of the Rings:
While Middle Earth had a mystical medieval feel, The Dark Tower vibe is one that Goldsman described as “an alternate Americana, one part post-apocalyptic, one part Sergio Leone.”
Which is exactly the right tone for a film adaptation.
With Bardem so close to signing the contract, expect updated casting news shortly. In the meantime, there is another Dark Tower novel in the works, and there’s an interactive web browser game called Discordia, playable for free at StephenKing.com.
Are you looking forward to seeing Javier Bardem play The Gunslinger? Have you read all the books? What about the other short stories and novels which tie in? What about the Marvel prequel graphic novels? Are you planning to, or are you just going to continue living your life?