Production continues apace on the New York set of Warner Bros. and Nikolaj Arcel’s The Dark Tower, the long-awaited adaptation of Stephen King’s celebrated sci-fi fantasy series.
Only a few months ago, the first wave of set photos surfaced online, placing Luther star Idris Elba in the shoes of Roland Deschain (AKA The Gunslinger). Elba’s stoic lead will be one half of the movie’s leading duo, with Matthew McConaughey picking up the other mantle as the infamous Man in Black.
This is our first good look at the wanderer known as Randall Flagg, with McConaughey donning a long, jet-black jacket and dyed hair to match. Mysterious and oddly powerful, the Man in Black is an instrumental part of The Dark Tower series, and McConaughey’s undisputed talent and intensity ought to make for an unmissable watch.
[zerg]Beyond Elba and McConaughey, The Dark Tower‘s casting docket also comprises Tom Taylor as Jake Chambers, a close ally to Roland in the formative years of his journey, along with Mad Max: Fury Road breakout Abby Lee as Tirana, Katheryn Winnick, Fran Kranz and Claudia Kim.
Wrangling King’s acclaimed eight-volume series on to the silver screen will be no mean feat, and it’s little wonder that Warner Bros. is fanning the flames of franchise potential with Arcel’s big-screen rendition. But will it be able to fully capture the sprawling scope of King’s genre mash-up? Time will tell.
Emerging from a prolonged stint in development, The Dark Tower is expected to march into theaters on February 17, 2017.
