This was pretty much all but confirmed but Deadline tells us today that actor Javier Bardem is closing his deal to join The Dark Tower. So unless something unexpected happens, he will officially be starring in the film. He was offered the role back in January and has been the frontrunner for the past few months, leaping ahead of actors like Viggo Mortensen and Christian Bale. The Ron Howard/Brian Grazer/Akiva Goldsman team will be behind the film and will be adapting from the classic Stephen King novel. It’s quite an ambitious project as it will cover three films and a TV series to complement it. Apparently Bardem is locked in for the first film (with options for the second and third) and the TV show that will air between the second and third film and act as a prequel.
According to Wikipedia:
“In the story, Roland Deschain is the last living member of a knightly order known as gunslingersand the last of the line of “Arthur Eld”, his world’s analogue of King Arthur. The world he lives in is quite different from our own, yet it bears striking similarities to it. Politically organized along the lines of a feudal society, it shares technological and social characteristics with the American Old West but is also magical. While the magical aspects are largely gone from Mid-World, some vestiges of them remain, along with the relics of a highly advanced, but long vanished, society. Roland’s quest is to find the Dark Tower, a fabled building said to be the nexus of all universes. Roland’s world is said to have “moved on”, and indeed it appears to be coming apart at the seams as mighty nations have been torn apart by war, entire cities and regions vanish without a trace and time does not flow in an orderly fashion. Even the Sun sometimes rises in the north and sets in the east. As the series opens, Roland’s motives, goals and age are unclear, though later installments shed light on these mysteries.”
I haven’t read the book but I’m aware of the praise it has received and I know it has quite a large legion of fans behind it. Stephen King is usually an author who produces quality material so I’m not too worried here. Bardem is an Oscar winner as are Goldsman, Howard and Grazer. So we’re off to a good start.
Universal knows they have a lot riding on this and it can potentially become an enormous franchise for them so I think they’re going to ensure that they bring some more quality talent on board to fill the supporting roles. In fact, Howard is reportedly already talking with other actors, trying to fill out the supporting cast. It shouldn’t be too long until we hear more about casting. We’ll keep you posted.
