There’s less than two months to go before Stephen King’s epic fantasy series The Dark Tower hits the big screen, and speaking to IGN, director Nikolaj Arcel has reaffirmed that the movie is actually a sequel to King’s book series, rather than a traditional adaptation.
“It is, in fact, a continuation,” said Arcel. “It is a canon continuation. That’s exactly what we intended and what Stephen King has signed off on.”
Arcel also went on to discuss King’s input into the project, and his reaction to the final film:
“At one point he said, ‘I have some notes for script.’ And he sent us a hard copy of the script, with hand-written notes. He was very polite and very respectful. It was always like, ‘Maybe Roland doesn’t talk so much here’… he was just like the groundskeeper of the characters. After he saw the film for the first time, [King said], ‘This is not exactly my novel, but this is very much in the spirit and the tone. And I’m very happy.'”
SEE ALSO: Watch the trailer for The Dark Tower here
SEE ALSO: Stephen King says Cujo makes an appearance in The Dark Tower movie
There are other worlds than these. Stephen King’s The Dark Tower, the ambitious and expansive story from one of the world’s most celebrated authors, makes its launch to the big screen. The last Knight Warrior, Roland Deschain (Idris Elba), has been locked in an eternal battle with Walter O’Dim, also known as the Man in Black (Matthew McConaughey), determined to prevent him from toppling the Dark Tower, which holds the universe together. With the fate of the worlds at stake, good and evil will collide in the ultimate battle as only Roland can defend the Tower from the Man in Black.
The Dark Tower is set for release on August 4th, and sees Nikolaj Arcel (A Royal Affair) directing a cast that includes Idris Elba (Luther) as Roland Deschain, Matthew McConaughey (Interstellar) as the Man in Black, Tom Taylor (Doctor Foster) as Jake Chambers, Abbey Lee (Mad Max: Fury Road) as Tirana, Fran Kranz (The Cabin in the Woods) as Pimli, Jackie Earle Haley (Watchmen) as Richard Sayre, Michael Barbieri (Little Men) as Timmy, Claudia Kim (Avengers: Age of Ultron) as Arra Champignon and Katheryn Winnick (Vikings) as Laurie Chambers.
Originally published June 25, 2017. Updated November 30, 2022.
