6 Things We Definitely Need To See In The Dark Tower

The upcoming big screen take on The Dark Tower starring Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey isn't going to be a straightforward adaptation of the popular series of Stephen King novels, but it will borrow elements from those and also serve as a sequel of sorts. As a result, we really don't know what to expect, but the basic premise of Gunslinger Roland Deschain attempting to track down the villainous Man in Black as they both race to get to the mystical Dark Tower - which holds together each and every universe in existence - will remain. Regardless of what the filmmakers have planned, with the first movie borrowing moments from all of the books, there's obviously a lot we want to see. What you'll find here then are six key moments and elements from The Dark Tower novels which must be included in the movie in some form if it's to be a success. It goes without saying that potentially major spoilers for the books follow, so keep that in mind before proceeding. 6) The Rose The significance of the rose in The Dark Tower novels is sometimes a little muddled, but what we do know is that it's the other nexus of reality separate from the Tower. If it were to be destroyed (something The Crimson King, The Man in Black and their disciples want to make happen), the Tower would collapse and reality would be destroyed, so protecting it is essential. Roland and his ka-tet go to all sorts of different methods to do that it in the books, and having that also be the case on the big screen would be good for a number of reasons. For starters, it gives the hero an excuse to visit present day New York (an interesting contrast to Mid-World), while some clever viral marketing for the movie has already shown how visually distinctive that rose - which is dusky pink on the outside, fierce red on the inside and has a centre as yellow as the sun - will be in live-action. 5) Slow Mutants In The Gunslinger, Roland and Jake travel beneath a mountain during their quest to track down The Man in Black and encounter a group of slow mutants along the way. In a sequence lifted straight out of a horror movie (see: The Descent), the duo find themselves being chased down in the pitch black by these horribly mutated and feral humans, and this is something which could work really well as a set piece in The Dark Tower. We already know that Jake is going to end up paying a visit to Mid-World, and while Roland will encounter some pretty awful monsters in the form of the Can-toi - rat-faced beings who wear human masks - it definitely wouldn't hurt to throw this lot into the mix. They're not an integral part of the books, but utilizing them fairly early on to get moviegoers on the edge of their seats and show what a badass Roland is would be a wise move. 4) The Drawing Of The Three It's already been confirmed that Eddie and Susannah won't factor into The Dark Tower, but director Nikolaj Arcel has expressed a desire to introduce them in a follow-up should this first instalment perform well enough. However, just because these two key members of Roland's ka-tet won't show up here, that doesn't mean we can't at least get some sort of tease about their existence. For starters, we should definitely see characters using doors to travel between realities, as that alone lays the groundwork for Roland to bring these two into Mid-World at a later point in the story. Some sort of hint at the end that Roland and Jake need to find them would be ideal, and while a mid-credits scene featuring a door appearing on a beach labelled with "The Prisoner" or "The Lady of Shadows" wouldn't mean much to non-book fans, for those familiar with the source material, it would be an amazing tease. 3) Sheemie Interestingly, The Dark Tower is going to take us to Algul Siento, a location that a group called The Breakers make their home after being kidnapped by The Man in Black. They're all gifted with psychic powers and are being forced to use those to help break the beams of reality so that the Tower will fall, and with very little progress being made, the villain hopes to add the powerful Jake Chambers to their ranks. It's been mentioned that we won't see Ted Brautigan because he originates from a different Stephen King novel that's been optioned elsewhere, but Sheemie should definitely appear. An ally Roland makes as a youngster, his return later in the series comes as a huge surprise, as does the fact that he's able to teleport. Bringing him into The Dark Tower would open the door to Roland's past, something it's been rumoured could very well be explored on the small screen in a spinoff series. 2) The Importance Of The Horn Of Eld The final book in The Dark Tower series ends with Roland restarting his journey to the Tower, only this time with the Horn of Eld, an ancient relic from Gilead which he previously left behind on the battlefield following the death of his original ka-tet. We learn that The Gunslinger has been sent back to restart his quest over and over (minus his memories), but this time the Tower has rewarded him with the Horn. What significance that has isn't clear, though it's strongly hinted that it will change the outcome of his story in a major way, allowing him to finally end his quest and find peace. It's been confirmed that the movie is going to tell the story of that last journey, and while the Horn likely won't come into play until a second or even third instalment, it's essential that The Dark Tower shed some light on why it's so important for the future of Roland and the Tower itself. 1) Roland Catches Up To The Man In Black The Dark Tower isn't going to adapt Roland's struggle through the Mohaine Desert as he relentlessly pursues The Man in Black, but we do know that the hero will still be tracking his nemesis down throughout the course of this movie. In The Gunslinger, Roland and The Man in Black palaver and the villain puts him on a course which he hopes will lead to his death (the aforementioned Drawing of The Three). While things will no doubt play out quite a bit differently here, it would be awesome to see this movie conclude with these two coming face to face for a confrontation which by that point feels earned and also sets up the future of the franchise. The Man in Black needs to make it out of this alive though - even if he fakes his death like in the books - because this and future movies have the chance to make up for the disappointing way the villain's arc ended in the source material.