Filming continues apace on the Warner Bros. set of The Dark Tower – no, you read that right – and today, The Hollywood Reporter brings word that Fran Kranz has joined the starry ensemble as a last-minute addition.
Rubbing shoulders with the likes of Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey – Roland Deschain and The Man in Black, respectively – Mad Max: Fury Road breakout Abby Lee and relative newcomer Tom Taylor as the instrumental Jake Chambers, THR notes that Kranz is attached to the role of Pimli.
For those unfamiliar with Stephen King’s celebrated, genre-defining source material, Pimli assists McConaughey’s The Man in Black throughout his journey – his right-hand man, essentially. Elsewhere, we caught wind that Jackie Earle Haley looks set to continue his streak of villainy in next year’s big-screen rendition of The Dark Tower by playing Sayre, a heinous character described as “a menacing humanoid who is a vampire leader.”
That caps off the casting list for now, with Nikolaj Arcel behind the lens to direct, placing the proverbial crosshairs on King’s first entry in the beloved series, The Gunslinger. Helping to steer that colossal vision onto the big screen are Warner’s crack team of producers, including Akiva Goldsman, Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Erica Huggins.
It’s official: The Dark Tower has been conjured into production ahead of a theatrical release on February 17, 2017. Whether Warner will move those goal posts to accommodate the no-doubt lengthy post-production process remains to be seen but for now, we’re less than a year out from Stephen King’s genre mash-up gracing the big screen. And how exciting is that?
