September 21st is upon us once again, and that means it's time to celebrate the birthday of the Master of Horror, Stephen King. EW has kicked off their own birthday bash by revealing new details about The Dark Tower TV series that, should it move forward, would act as a companion show to the the upcoming feature film adaptation of King's epic book series.
The Dark Tower TV series has long been in the works, and although it still doesn't have a distributor, EW reveals that principal photography on the series is expected to begin next year, with a 2018 premiere date planned. The production company MRC is eyeing 10 to 13 episodes for the first season.
Idris Elba, who plays The Gunslinger Roland Deschain in The Dark Tower movie, is set to reprise his role in the TV series, which will primarily adapt the events of Wizard and Glass, the fourth book in The Dark Tower series. Wizard and Glass tells a tale of Roland in his younger years, so Elba would not be the star of the TV show, but he would make an appearance, along with Tom Taylor as Jake Chambers. It's not yet known if Matthew McConaughey would pop up on the small screen as Walter, aka The Man in Black.
The Dark Tower feature film director Nikolaj Arcel is working with Anders Thomas Jensen on a script for the TV series, which will be executive produced by Jeff Pinkner, Ron Howard, Brian Graze, and Akiva Goldsman.
Currently filming in South Africa, The Dark Tower film stars Idris Elba as The Gunslinger, Matthew McConaughey as The Man in Black, Tom Taylor as Jake Chambers, Fran Kranz as Pimli, Katheryn Winnick, and Jackie Earle Haley as Sayre. Sony has scheduled the film for a February 17th, 2017 theatrical release.
To read EW's full article with more details on The Dark Tower TV series, go to:
For those unfamiliar with Wizard and Glass, here's the book's official synopsis and cover art:
"Part IV of an epic quest. Roland the Gunslinger and his followers have to contend with a sentient monorail intent on killing itself and taking them with it. While seeking to return to the Path of the Beam that will lead them to the Dark Tower, Roland tells his friends a story about the tragic loss of his first love, Susan Delgado."
Cover art via Hodder & Stoughton:
Raised on a steady diet of R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps books and Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Derek has been fascinated with fear since he first saw ForeverWare being used on an episode of Eerie, Indiana.
When he’s not writing about horror as the Senior News Reporter for Daily Dead, Derek can be found daydreaming about the Santa Carla Boardwalk from The Lost Boys or reading Stephen King and Brian Keene novels.
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