First Set Photos For The Dark Tower Find Idris Elba In Costume As The Gunslinger

It’s a sentence that we here at We Got This Covered have wanted to pen for an awful long time: Warner Bros’ long-gestating adaptation of The Dark Tower has finally entered production.

To prove it, British tabloid The Daily Mail has unearthed a pair of photos from the film’s set in Cape Town, South Africa, showcasing Idris Elba in costume as Roland Deschain (AKA The Gunslinger). Both snaps can be viewed after the jump.

While one still teases a green screen backdrop set against an appropriately rusty, dilapidated set, it’s really Elba’s get up as the famed Gunslinger that will pique the interest of fans. Blinking into the sunlight, the Luther star can be seen sporting one of the Sandalwood guns, tucked away safely in a holster.

He’ll need all the protective gear he can muster in his gruelling pursuit of Randall Flagg (AKA The Man in Black), who will be brought to life by Oscar-winner Matthew McConaughey. Capping off the core cast list for The Dark Tower are Tom Taylor as Jake Chambers, Mad Max: Fury Road breakout Abby Lee as Tirana, Katheryn Winnick, Fran Kranz and Claudia Kim.

Elsewhere, Nikolaj Arcel is the director tasked with bringing King’s celebrated novel series to the silver screen, flanked by Warner Bros.’ team of producers that includes Akiva Goldsman, Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Erica Huggins.

Blending science fiction, fantasy and elements of horror, Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series is held up as one of the greatest and most important novel series of the past 30 years – and rightfully so. It’s finally bound to cinemas, with its crosshairs currently placed on a February 17, 2017 release, but will Warner Bros. be able to deliver a competent adaptation? Time will tell.