After years of negotiations, Stephen King's hit novel series The Dark Tower is on its way to big and small screens near you.The revered writer, who penned Shawshank Redemption and The Shining, slammed Warner Brothers in 2012 for dropping plans to make a movie trilogy and TV mini-series.Finally, three years later, things are back on track - this time with Sony.
Finally: Stephen King has announced Sony will be putting his 'magnum opus' The Dark Tower in cinemas
These are just two of the eight novels which King spent over 40 years writing. The movie and TV version is said to mainly stem from the first novel, The Gunslinger (left), focusing on the lead character Roland
'I'm excited that The Dark Tower is finally going to appear on the screen,' King said in a statement. 'Those who have traveled with Roland and his friends in their search for the Dark Tower are going to have their long-held hopes fully realized. This is a brilliant and creative approach to my books.'The eight-book series written between 1970 and 2012 follows a 'gunslinger' on his journey towards a tower.
Describing his self-professed 'magnum opus', King said it combines the essences of the Wild West, science fiction, and Lord Of The Rings.Like J. R. R. Tolkien's celebrated trilogy, The Dark Tower has its own unique language. According to Deadline, the newfangled project has an entirely new script which focuses on the relationship between Roland and Jake in Gunslinger, the first book.A provisional script has been written by Akiva Goldsman (Cinderella Man) and Jeff Pinkner (Lost).
Rumored leads: Javier Bardem (left) and Russell Crowe (right) are said to be interested in the lead role
Three years on, Javier Bardem and Russell Crowe are still rumored to be interested in the lead role. Sony chairman Tom Rothman said in a statement: 'There are few projects out there that compare with the scope, vision, complex characters and fully drawn world that Stephen King has created with The Dark Tower. 'I am a giant fan. And, as Stephen himself does, we love the direction that Akiva and Jeff have taken. This is a great opportunity for a director to put his or her stamp on a cool global franchise.'When Warner Bros dropped the deal - initiated by Universal - King told a press conference: 'The Dark Tower, to me, and I’m not unbiased because I’m the writer on this thing, but to me it looks like gold on the ground waiting to be picked up.'
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