Newcomer Tom Taylor To Scale The Dark Tower As Jake Chambers

Idris Elba, Matthew McConaughey and Mad Max: Fury Road starlet Abbey Lee are part of the preliminary cast on board for The Dark Tower, though today the Warner Bros. fantasy epic has made room for one more: Tom Taylor.

Variety has the scoop, revealing that the young up-and-comer – best known for BBC’s period drama The Last Kingdom – will assume the role of Jake Chambers, a surrogate son to McConaughey’s Randall Flag (AKA The Man in Black), who helps direct him toward the Dark Tower. That’s a pivotal role for the youngster to nab, bringing an end to an international search over at Warner. To date, Taylor’s few credits also include Doctor Foster and the Sean Bean drama Legends.

Idris Elba, meanwhile, is to take point as the infamous gunslinger Roland Deschain, teeing up a bitter rivalry between both he and Randall Flag. Abbey Lee completes the core ensemble as Tirana. Crafting Stephen King’s tome into a feature film is Nikolaj Arcel (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo), and common logic dictates that WB will target the author’s first entry into the genre-defining series, The Gunslinger, as a key point of reference.

Also behind the lens are Akiva Goldsman, Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Erica Huggins in the producing team. The Dark Tower is currently locked for February 17, 2017.