Time could be running out for Roland at Universal.
The studio has set a deadline of mid-July for the multi-platform Dark Tower project to get underway according to the Hollywood Reporter. As you may recall, the series of best-selling novels by Stephen King are set to be adapted into a trilogy of films and several television series. The project is led by director Ron Howard.
Universal reportedly has concerns over the budget for the project. The studio passed on the high profile adaptation of At the Mountains of Madness with Tom Cruise as a star and Guillermo del Toro directing because of budget concerns. (Rumor has it that Battleship is sinking under the weight of its budget).
Deadline Hollywood correspondent Mike Fleming asked Howard how important it is to take “big swings” with a really risky project like The Dark Tower, Howard said, “The Dark Tower seemed like such a good idea to both of us that it became impossible not to try it. It’s impossible to live with ourselves if we don’t take the swing.”
Then Fleming asked why three movies and the TV series?
“The universe Steve King created is so dimensional and creative. It blends scope, sweep, and adventure with some very personal compelling stories. We could have tried to force all of it into one or two or three movies. It became clear to me that the medium of TV has become so bold and cool, we could use it to our advantage creative and really fulfill the possibilities of this universe of characters King gave us to work with.”
Howard also says the budget cuts “aren’t that deep or that radical,” and that his main screenwriter Akiva Goldsman, wrote it with costs in mind.
Dates! Deadlines! all good. At least we know they are serious about getting this project off the ground.
The only good (possibly) about this is that Battleship “is sinking under the weight of its budget.” Maybe we can all be spared what I can only imagine is going to be a DREADFUL movie!!!
I’m glad that the project is in danger. Stephen King created a universe, not just a world with the story. A universe of adventure, personal conflict, science fiction, and of course the Old West. It’s a universe that every reader has augmented with their imagination, making it bigger, bolder, more expansive with even more adventure. King and others continue to write about Roland DeSchain, Son of Stephen, of Gilead That Once Was, and Defender of the White. Let their imaginations run with the story – stories – and cancel the movies, which will TELL fans what to imagine.