When asked how best to describe The Dark Tower, Stephen King’s eight-novel series and undisputed magnum opus, Matthew McConaughey likened the story to a “dark tale of Christianity,” one that spins a mythic battle between good and evil on an epic, mind-bending scale.
At the crux of that narrative is, of course, The Dark Tower itself, the looming, monolithic structure and nexus of time that soon becomes a point of fixation for Idris Elba’s Gunslinger, Roland Deschain, as he begins his quest through Mid-World and beyond alongside a mysterious young boy known as Jake Chambers (Tom Taylor). Both characters – along with Matthew McConaughey’s elusive Man in Black/Walter O’Dim – were ushered into the spotlight just yesterday via a trio of motion posters, and today, Sony has lifted the curtain on the one promo that has kept the Internet on tenterhooks ever since the unfinished cut leaked online late last year: The Dark Tower‘s inaugural trailer.
“For thousand of generations, the Gunslingers were knights. Sworn to protect us from the coming of the dark.” After introducing us to Elba’s sharpshooter, the trailer quickly jump cuts to the present day, where Taylor’s Jake Chambers is experiencing nightmarish visions of a world beyond our own – see if you can spot the Overlook Hotel in the backdrop. But Jake refuses to believe that his premonitions are mere dreams, and when he uncovers a door to another dimension, he enters a ravaged wasteland to meet the great Roland Deschain and his eternal foe: Matthew McConaughey’s all-powerful Man in Black who is essentially the devil reincarnate.
For those of you who clocked eyes on the leaked footage before it was yanked offline, you’ll no doubt recognize a handful of shots here and there – albeit with finished CGI – otherwise, you’re in for a mythic, mind-bending treat. Question marks have loomed large over Nikolaj Arcel’s adaptation ever since it was first announced – and subsequently delayed, twice – but based on today’s trailer alone, this could become that rare Stephen King adaptation that somehow, almost inexplicably, does the source material justice. At least, that’s the glass-half-full estimation.
The Dark Tower will finally – finally! – be with us on August 4th. Those in the UK can expect Sony’s long-in-development adaptation to make the journey across the pond in time for August 18th, and with any luck, today’s trailer will be attached to the premiere of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 this coming weekend.
