Damon Lindelof Updates The Dark Tower

A year and a half ago, Stephen King optioned The Dark Tower series to JJ Abrams and Damon Lindelof for $19. But since then we haven’t really heard any updates on the project. Recently AMC got a chance to chat with Lindelof, who admitted that he won’t have time to tackle the adaptation until Lost is finished. He also revealed that he would like to adapt the seven books into a seven film series. Here is the quote:

“The Dark Tower is to me every bit as daunting an adaptation as the Lord of the Rings trilogy must have been for Peter Jackson, except we’ve got seven books we’re looking at. And the idea of doing that at the same time Carlton and I are bringing Lost to a close is simply not viable. There are always Dark Tower conversations, but the figuring out of what this will look like as a movie has not begun. If The Dark Tower were in the right hands, I would love to see seven movies executed just right. But you have to get people to see the first one to get them to come and see the second one.”

I’m not sure the adaptation could sustain a big enough audience for seven feature film. The Dark Tower is a epic series of seven books written by King from 1982 to 2004. The story follows Roland Deschain’s quest for the Dark Tower, which is often described as a real structure, and also as a metaphor.

  • marz
    i read all the dark tower books and i would loooove to see it adapted into a movie..hell even a mini series if they could do it right and not make it look cheesey..so that leaves the sci fi channel out lol the screenplay would have to stay true to the books or it wont work.NO cutting corners or heavy hacking in the editing room.i think either del toro or abrams would do it justice.u cant just put this into anybodies hands.maybe even sam raimi.if they can do it to the harry potter books,they can do it with this!!!
  • Dustin
    I'm a big fan of the books and have mostly enjoyed the recent Marvel releases but I just don't see this having the drawing power to sustain a seven film saga. This is yet another adaptation I'd prefer to see through HBO or Showtime where things have time to gestate.
  • Clive Staples
    Show show show show show show show. Not a movie. TV is the only viable medium for this work, otherwise it will bomb. I'd rather wait 10 more years for a decent HBO version than 3 years for a silver screen Gunslinger that will fail and therefore doom subsequent installations. Do it right, dudes.
  • volvo
    mmmmm...gestate.
    only way this doesn't suck is if it's a very faithful animated adaptation.
  • One Shot Willie
    A faithful CGI animation would work. However...Draw it and it will fail
  • orange cinema
    the fact that they are looking at in the same serious way that LOTR was approached is such a relief. i also wonder if this will be able to capture a large enough audience to make all 7, or if it will suffer the same fate as the recent chronicles of narnia disasters.

    an HBO or SHO series would be pretty sweet, but i've always seen deschain as Viggo Mortenson, but i doubt he'd be down to do it. these books are very weird and beautiful, i think it'd be almost like that old show 'Carnivale'.

    either way, it can't be treated like most of the stephen king tv miniseries. i loved 'the stand' and 'it', but even they are a little cheesy. some of the others are downright silly.
  • killking
    this is hard i dont know if a hbo adaption would have a big enough budget to faithfully represent the world roland lives in . Pluse sorry to sat rland can only be played by bruce cambell !! NUFF SAID
  • Captain Awesome
    volvo,

    or a well done series on HBO or Showtime. Like they have proven.
  • Sauce
    I've always seen this as an epic miniseries on Showtime or HBO. Have the LOST heads write up the treatment and produce, bring in a lot of top notch actors. Then have each two hour episode be directed by someone different.
    My thought has always been that as you progress through the books that each setting is different and each story has their own feel to it. When we go back to Eddie's time/world/universe to pull him through the door we need someone who can direct the dirty grimy New York City that only the movies remember. But, I'd want to see someone else's vision for harvest time in Hambry where Roland meets Susan.

    This has always lead me to believe a long, well done mini-series would be the way to go. Maybe after LOST these guys will see that too.

    How many hours should this whole project be? 19 one hour episodes too obvious?
  • Graeme
    I'm not pointing out a typo for the sake of it but did Lindelof really get the rights for $19? Did he buy King lunch or something?
  • joe k
    read the books
  • Andrew
    Would not work as movies. Would work better as an epic series on HBO.
  • Andrew
    "I’m not pointing out a typo for the sake of it but did Lindelof really get the rights for $19?"

    Have you read the series? There's a significance with 19.
  • Priest
    @ Graeme: As far as I remember it was actually 19$ and it was 19 as it had some form of significance within the book.
  • Gajonka
    good article in the wall street journal today- a1 and a20 - about the glut of films in hollywood right now. too many 13m - 18 m budgets, many going to dvd, that were not INTENDED to. take a look, i think it would be an interesting read for /filmers.
  • Thomas
    The first four books were good, the last ones sucked. Oh, man did they suck. One of the biggest cop-outs I've ever read. Song of Susannah??? Nothing happens in the book - NOTHING. And inserting himself into the mix? Ok, we get it...you almost died.

    And let's face it, the only good King movies are those that aren't horror/fantasy - The Body, Shawshank Redemption, Misery, etc. IT? Great book, bad movie. The Stand? Great book, verrrry bad movie.The Shining? Thank god for Kubrick, who changed so much around that the movie barely resembled the book.

    Look, King's work has sucked ever since his accident.
  • eat me
    WOW, you need to get laid.
  • Nikki
    someones a little jealous of Sai King's talent in writing novels.
    I love The Dark Tower with all my heart and stand by the series.
  • A Better Class of Criminal
    I've never read the books, but I've heard great things about it. (Puts down copy of Watchmen next to The Hobbit, mutters under breath "goddam book-to-movie adaptations")
  • Jacobi
    I think Darlton could pull it off as a movie series, but it really needs to be done as a six-season TV series: One season per book, with "The Gunslinger" adapted as an introductory miniseries, ala Battlestar Galactica.
  • volvo
    i really can't think of any living actor that could play roland. except eastwood from the 1960's or 70's. plus the actor playing jake would age too dramatically by the time a series or slew of movies were finished.
    aaaandd...live action adaptations of king's work do tend to suck. the comics are good.
    therefore...if it ain't gonna suck like the stand miniseries make it an animated series on hbo or animated movies. get the guy who did tekkonkinkreet...could be great.
  • YoungZe
    Every time i see an episode of Carnivalé i can't stop thinking about a badass Dark Tower adaptation, i mean, it would work. A Series would be so much better than a movie.
  • The Dark Tower is easily my favourite series of books ever and I have to say that I disagree with everyone saying that it would only work as a TV series. I think that you should slap the first two books together as one film and then if they do it right people will come back and watch the other five. Get different directors for different parts, like somebody said here in the thread.

    The reason the books are so dense is that there is a lot of description etc, the plot contained therein could easily be just six movies. Especially with the current trend of the average movie being two or more hours long.
  • Agent J
    ....gestate......I can see this being on HBO or Showtime.
  • Jeremy
    If tickets were on sale right now, I'd buy them. I enjoyed reading this series of books sooooo much! I completely agree with Sam, these books were crazy long because they were incredibly descriptive!

    This would be great as a movie, someone who is a super fan of the book series needs to direct, and to it right. Just like LOTR. There is no need to make each book its own movie. The entire thing could probably be made a trilogy.

    I'm psyched!
  • volvo
    think of the illustrations in the books. now picture them moving.
    gotta be animated.
    or else shia will be eddie and hugh jackman will be roland and that would be gross.
  • Arch Stanton
    Does he find the Dark Tower or not? If he finds it, it's not a metaphor.
  • volvo
    yes it is.
  • Taz
    19$ Are you sure you don't mean 19 million?
  • Yeah, it was for $19. King said he was glad Abrams and Co. were so excited and such big fans, and he said he didn't need the money, so he sold the rights to him for $19. It was in one of King's articles in Entertainment Weekly last year around this time.
  • Dustin
  • volvo
    mmmmmm...nothing like the smell of gestate in the morning.
  • krets
    I'm OK with a movie version as long as the Tick Tock man is in there.
  • Dustin
    except smegma
  • For years Lord of the Rings was known as the "unfilmable" film. People thought it couldn't possibly be adapted, filmed, and released in a viable manner - let alone become a huge hit. They succeeded beyond anyone's expectations, becoming one of the only trilogies ever to have each film surpass the pervious one's box office numbers. And lets not forget the dozen or so oscars ROTK won.

    Have a little faith. While The Dark Tower isn't nearly as hyped or popular as the Harry Potter series, the hype it drums up while a new film is written, filmed, and released would be considerable. Especially if a notable director like JJ Abrams is attached to it.

    Plus, the first book - The Gunslinger - has a pretty kick ass title. If that doesn't draw people to the movie, nothing will!
  • Laura
    I agree with the others who said better a show than movie. But I don't think this is any more complicated than LOTR, just longer, so maybe...

    Whatever happens, I hope they don't bunk it up, and the books finally get the recognition they deserve!
  • volvo
    yeah, morning smegma is the best kind.
  • killking
    MMMMM .where can i find that ?
  • Chelsea
    I didn't read all the comments for I apologize if I'm repeating something.

    I think this would only work well as feature films. Granted, like people have said, and HBO series would probably be OK, but I don't want to see it anywhere other than the big screen.

    When LOTR came out I thought that Viggo Mortensen would be a good Roland, but I don't want to see him typecast anymore.

    Also, if the movies would be made, they should make 6 instead of 7. There's no way that the first book alone would be able to capture non-readers into wanting more. It's too slow.

    But I think it could be done. Editing and cutting would be necessary in order to make it fluid enough, again, for non-readers.

    And did anyone see No Country for Old Men in theaters (I know, it's such a small film I doubt anyone did haha), but those shots of the desert on the big screen were to DIE FOR. I saw them and went "this is the Dark Tower." That's what made me determined to see it on the big screen.
  • I have read this series five times. I now want to start over and go for number six. Hmmm, series versus movies... MAYBE it'd work better as a show, I agree. But if they film the whole seven stories (or maybe six at once and shoot WIZARDS AND GLASS separatley) like LOTR, get WETA with some of the effects, and --WOW, I've just of this-- get VIGGO MORTENSEN to play ROLAND... hey guys, who knows, this could work!
  • killking
    Bruce cambell as roland
  • Dark Tower
    HBO for sure...it would ensure that the complete saga is made, although a film could be great if they plan it extensively...but he's right, people have to see the first one before anything....fans will go and there has to be a few million right there....but who is going to be Roland????...after seeing the fountain, Hugh Jackman has the goods and certainly would fit the clint eastwood look....given the right words, he is a good actor.
  • marz
    if they had done this a while ago, i would say use hale joel ausment (the kid from A.I. and the 6th sense) as eddie.but i do agree,hugh jackman or viggo would make good rolands.they have that 'western cowboy' look.and as for susannah...maybe sanaa lathan or zoe saldana.i dont think i wanna see this movie animated.you dont realy care for or have feelings for a character thats not real flesh and blood..unless its made like beowolf..but even then...
  • southwick
    Make sure someone like Viggo gets cast as Roland, or Clint Eastwood is cloned then quickly aged to 45.
  • volvo
    hugh jackman is good in the fountain but he's too soft to be roland. you'd need someone who could project that subtle menacing intensity that eastwood has. maybe viggo but for lotr. that's just too much viggo in my epic stories. ok daniel day lewis could play roland but he'd never take the role. robert downey jr. is the perfect eddie but maybe he's too old.
    still think it should be animated.
    if it's done right animation can have just as much emotional weight to it as live action. but yeah no beowolf style please.
  • southwick
    Honestly I hadn't really even thought of the fact that Viggo was in LOTR. He is just the only person that comes to mind as a follow up to Clint Eastwood (who I have always assumed King thought of when writing the stories). His role is Hidalgo def makes me think he could do the grizzled wirey cowboy type.
  • volvo
    yeah, i think viggo could do it. and i'd rather it be him than anybody else i can think of except daniel day lewis. i'd like to see daniel day lewis massacre the entire town of tull. that thought alone is making me rethink my animation prejudice.
  • Chelsea
    Guys, seriously, you have to look outside of the box on this one. This is the opportunity to but a good actor in a new and exciting role and you're coming up with Mortensen and Jackman? Seriously? Do "Aragorn" and "Van Helsing" ring any bells? They've already had to play mysterious, brooding roles.

    You need to get an actor that you'd never expect. Like how I never thought that Josh Brolin would be so awesome in No Country for Old Men but he totally pulled it off. For a second I was thinking "Maybe HE could be Roland" but then I realized that, like Viggo and Hugh, he's done that role, so he can't do it again.

    I can't think of anyone off of the top of my head, but I'm sure any casting people could come up with someone unexpected.

    That's what I want. Someone UN-expected.
  • Dustin
    Nathan Fillion? Not serious enough I suppose.
  • Jodi
    I would cast Gina Torres as Susannah and Adam Baldwin as Roland... just make him grow his hair a bit more and hey presto! Its also a role I think he would do well. He mentions in a few interviews that he always wanted to play the part of a grizzled mercenary/cowboy type...
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