The Dark Tower: The Next Series to Obsess Over
As David Benioff and D. B. Weiss write and film the last two seasons of Game of Thrones, and readers of the series impatiently wait for George (double R) Martin to publish the last few books in the series, all fans are going to have a dragon-sized hole in their hearts and minds. My theory (and hope) is that the next Science Fiction and Fantasy nerd obsession to go mainstream and fill that void will be Stephen King’s The Dark Tower. That’s right, trade in your "The Wall" for "The Tower," your Valyrian steel blades for your sandalwood guns, and your encyclopedia full of interesting, flawed characters who do not understand the danger that approaches them (winter is coming), for a handful strange, broken characters who do not understand the danger that they approach. The Dark Tower series has little in common with The Game of Thrones, except that both are perfectly suited for cinematic adaptation, both contain protagonists and antagonists that jostle back and forth across the gray area between "good" and "evil," and both are full of pain and sacrifice. They both lie along the spectrum of fantasy though GoT settles in a special place at the top of High Fantasy (Swords, Sorcery, and Dragons) while DT fits into a very slippery section of Weird or Strange Fantasy. While they are very different series I think that if DT is done right it will be an equally captivating replacement for the perennial nerd Olympics that is GoT. Like the Olympics and Game of Thrones, I think that King's characters and epic narrative have the potential to not only attract the year round nerd, but also to attract others who do not typically tune in. The Dark Tower is accessible for the non-fantasy fan because, like Game of Thrones, it is about humanity. The characters face, defeat, and even fail to overcome the same obstacles we face in real life; love, greed, obsession, hope, loyalty, basic survival instincts, etc.
Concerns (I’m a very critical person)
#1: Book to Movie
The Dark Tower series is fantastic, and has great on screen potential, but will it be done as well as the HBO Game of Thrones on-screen adaptation? King’s writing style lends itself well to visual adaptations, as evidenced by the fact that many of King’s novels and short stories have been adapted for film and television (over 60 adaptations and counting), but those on-screen adaptations range wildly from Oscar worthy to laughably ridiculous. Even when the movies are good they are often departures from the original text, which is typically a cardinal sin among the circle of fans that have been waiting for over a decade (since talks began) to see their favorite book become a movie.
It's true that Benioff and Weiss have rerouted and crosshatched many GoT plots and characters, but when they have they have almost always stayed true to the tone and intention of Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire. The same cannot be said in some great Stephen King film adaptations. The Shinning for instance is largely regarded as a classic, must-watch of the horror film genre, but it loses a lot of mysticism and character complexity that the book gives the reader.
Stephen King himself once said, “The Shining' is a beautiful film and it looks terrific and as I’ve said before, it’s like a big, beautiful Cadillac with no engine inside it.”
Another thing that concerns me about any King adaptation is that King has let on that he doesn’t necessarily worry too much about whether or not the movies/shows will do well. In an interview with Rolling Stone he once said, “The movies have never been a big deal to me. The movies are the movies. They just make them. If they're good, that's terrific. If they're not, they're not. But I see them as a lesser medium than fiction, than literature, and a more ephemeral medium."
This seems to have not been the case in the adaptation of Game of Thrones, where George R. R. Martin worked closely with Benioff and Weiss for the first few seasons. Then again, Martin used to write for television, so he may not share King’s view of film as a “lesser medium.”
#2: Production Value
My second worry is production. The on-screen adaptations of Terry Goodkind’s Sword of Truth series and Christopher Paolini’s Eragon movie are some examples of terrible production quality in the fantasy genre. The success of a film, but especially a fantasy film, is predicated on the fact that the viewer feels as though they are transported into a believable world. One mistake that fantasy film producers make is that they do not apply this rule to their fantasy or science fiction films, perhaps because they believe that the fantastic content does not need to be immersive. When you don’t invest in your fantasy film it becomes a one-and-done like Eragon, where a massive battle scene turns out to look like a bar fight between 10 people. When you do spend the big money you potentially end up with The Lord of the Rings or Avatar.
Money doesn’t always determine success. HBO and the GoT show runners have somehow managed to turn fantasy into seamless reality 98% of the time. They have succeeded in creating a movie quality tv series for the past 6 years on an admittedly high tv show budget, but definitely low considering the types of amazing scenes they have pulled off.
The Dark Tower is going to be adapted into at least one film, possibly more, though there have been talks of starting with a movie and then transitioning to television to cover the later material. With big named actors such as Edris Elba and Mathew Mcconaughey lined up to play the main protagonist and antagonist respectively, I would hope that Sony would also put out the big bucks to insure that the special effects, sets, costumes, etc are top notch, but, because I have read GoT and DT, I know not to rely on hope.
#3: Stops and Starts
After having so many successful films based off of Stephen King works and after all of the recent successes for fantasy genre films you would think that The Dark Tower adaptation would be smooth sailing, but in fact the possibility of an adaptation of DT has been off and on for the last decade.
When asked, Stephen King himself has always said that he would love to see DT on the big screen, and there have been at least a handful of top directors and producers who would agree, but for one reason or another options and production for the film have been juggled from producer to producer, writer to writer, and production company to, you get the point.
In 2007 J.J. Abrams was expected to produce, direct, and co-write alongside Lost writer Damon Lindelof. That was pretty exciting news for fans because, while Lost upset many viewers for some good reasons, Lost writers always did a great job at character development and keeping viewers glued to the screen to discover what mysteries lie ahead. In that way, the island on Lost is similar to the mysterious Dark Tower in…The Dark Tower. Fans, not learning the lessons of The Dark Tower became obsessed with the possible pairing, only to have their hopes crushed a year later when all of the Lost alumnus pulled out.
Later Ron Howard picked up the torch planning to produce and direct, and while he is still producing the film which is awesome, he is no longer directing which is mixed news. The current director who is finally in the middle of making the film is Nikolaj Arcel. What does that mean for The Dark Tower movie? I’m not sure, that’s why this is concern numuro tres.
Good News
#1: THEY’RE MAKING THE DARK TOWER MOVIE
The first book was originally published in 1982, and, according to King, the idea for the story had been stewing in his brain for much longer. In a way it’s good that the series has taken so long to be adapted because movie/tv quality and technology are experiencing a golden age. It’s also good that The Dark Tower creators will have movies like The Lord of the Rings and tv shows like Game of Thrones to take notes from.
#2: Casting
Edris Elba and Mathew Mcconaughey are playing Roland Deschain and The Man in Black respectively. Both are bad asses in their own rights, and both have built a reputation in recent years for taking solid roles in solid films and tv series. There are also rumors that Aaron Paul might play Eddie Dean in the sequels, which I would consider a good fit.
“Roland Deschain can’t be black,” some idiots are bravely typing on articles announcing Edris Elba’s casting. Why not? We’re turning a book into a movie, and in that book multiple universes collide, literature is twisted into reality, and a gunslinger/knight/prince seeks a magical tower. Why are you getting hung up on Edris Elba, who is, again, a certified bad ass and damn good actor? Is it because you’re racist? Think about it. Are you a little racist? Maybe a little?
There is no logical reason why Roland can’t be black. Sure the scenes in which he and Odetta Holmes interact will be slightly different, but not substantially different. If your main reason for opposing this casting choice is that you’re upset that Odetta won’t be able to call Roland a “honky mutha fucka” a few times, then don’t see the movie. King doesn’t need the money and we won’t miss you.
#3: Ron Howard Producing
Even though Howard stepped aside as director, I think it’s still promising that he has stayed around as a producer. He seems to be very passionate about the story, as evidenced by his continual support and guidance of the film’s production over the last six years. He has connections with Netflix and HBO, and both have proven themselves to be worthy platforms for well done, creatively gratifying, fan satisfying tv shows and movies. Again, I’ve learned not to hope too much, but if Howard puts his mark on The Dark Tower series, it should at least be above average.
