Stephen King fans: Dark Tower, The gunslinger to be made into Big screen movie & TV

[Allent]

Just read it on WWW.stephenking.com Ron howard is going to Direct the first Three movies and universal is going to produce a TV series that will "fill in the gaps" between the big screen epics.
Ron Howard is said to Ex-produce the seires.

My Question, Who will play Roland? Tom Hanks? Clint eastwood? Ben Aflec? Huge Jackman?

[Skirmish]

Read this when it was posted on Fark, then danced a bit, and then realized they'll probably screw it up like most of his books when they turn it into a film version.

As for Roland, I'd prefer a non superstar so that your able to get fully into the character as opposed to thinking about "hey, he's playing him just like Wolverine"

[jerryxenon]

Just read it on WWW.stephenking.com Ron howard is going to Direct the first Three movies and universal is going to produce a TV series that will "fill in the gaps" between the big screen epics.
Ron Howard is said to Ex-produce the seires.

My Question, Who will play Roland? Tom Hanks? Clint eastwood? Ben Aflec? Huge Jackman?

When I first started reading this series many years back, it occurred to me back then that this would be a wonderful series to adapt to film and that Clint would be the perfect man for the job.

[Fomori]

Lance Henriksen would make an awesome Roland.

[falcon2030]

I have to admit that I danced when I read this and my coworkers still think I'm crazy (wouldn't want to dissapoint them ).

I hope Mr. Howard lives up to his reputation and works his majic or this will be a dissapointment.

[Ashiel_Dragmire]

Viggo Mortensen should play Roland IMO. I always imagined him as Roland for some reason. The other members of the cast are harder for me to place though.

[Cam_Neely]

I'm a fan of some of Kings work (honestly, can only say some, cause who is going to read the bajillion books he has written), but have disliked many of the movies. For every Shawshank or Stand By Me there are 10 Langoliers or the Stand



* 1976 - Carrie
* 1979 - Salem's Lot
* 1980 - The Shining
* 1982 - Creepshow (Five short films: "Father's Day," "The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill," "Something to Tide You Over," "The Crate," and "They're Creeping Up On You")
* 1982 - The Boogeyman (short film)
* 1983 - Cujo
* 1983 - The Dead Zone
* 1983 - Christine
* 1983 - Disciples of the Crow (short film)
* 1983 - The Woman in the Room (short film)
* 1984 - Children of the Corn
* 1984 - Firestarter
* 1985 - Cat's Eye (Three short films: "Quitters, Inc.," "The Ledge," and "The General")
* 1985 - Silver Bullet
* 1985 - Stephen King's Nightshift Collection (Two short films: "The Woman in the Room" and "The Boogeyman")
* 1985 - Word Processor of the Gods (episode of Tales from the Darkside)
* 1986 - Gramma (episode of The Twilight Zone)
* 1986 - Maximum Overdrive
* 1986 - Stand By Me
* 1987 - Creepshow 2 (Three short films: "Old Chief Wood'n'head," "The Raft," and "The Hitchhiker")
* 1987 - A Return to Salem's Lot
* 1987 - The Running Man
* 1987 - The Last Rung on the Ladder (short film)
* 1987 - Sorry, Right Number (episode of Tales from the Darkside)
* 1989 - Pet Sematary
* 1990 - The Cat From Hell (short film)
* 1990 - Graveyard Shift
* 1990 - It (TV mini-series)
* 1990 - Misery
* 1990 - The Moving Finger (Monsters episode)
* 1991 - Golden Years (TV miniseries)
* 1991 - Sometimes They Come Back
* 1992 - Sleepwalkers
* 1993 - The Dark Half
* 1993 - Needful Things
* 1993 - The Tommyknockers (miniseries)
* 1993 - Chinga (episode of The X-files)
* 1994 - The Shawshank Redemption
* 1994 - The Stand (miniseries)
* 1995 - The Langoliers (miniseries)
* 1995 - The Mangler
* 1995 - Dolores Claiborne
* 1995 - Stephen King's Nightshift Collection
* 1996 - Thinner
* 1997 - The Shining (TV miniseries)
* 1997 - Ghosts (music video)
* 1997 - The Night Flier (HBO Movie)
* 1997 - Quicksilver Highway (segment Chattery Teeth)
* 1997 - Trucks (TV Remake of Maximum Overdrive)
* 1998 - Apt Pupil
* 1999 - The Green Mile
* 1999 - The Rage: Carrie 2
* 1999 - Storm of the Century (TV miniseries)
* 1999 - Llamadas (short film)
* 2000 - Paranoid(short film)
* 2001 - Hearts in Atlantis
* 2001 - Strawberry Spring (short film)
* 2002 - Rose Red (TV miniseries)
* 2002 - The Dead Zone (TV Series)
* 2002 - Night Surf (short film)
* 2002 - Rainy Season (short film)
* 2002 - Carrie (TV movie remake)
* 2003 - Dreamcatcher
* 2003 - The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer (TV movie)
* 2003 - Autopsy Room Four (short film)
* 2003 - Here There Be Tygers (short film)
* 2003 - The Man in the Black Suit (short film)
* 2004 - Secret Window
* 2004 - Kingdom Hospital (TV series)
* 2004 - Salem's Lot (TV miniseries)
* 2004 - Luckey Quarter (short film)
* 2004 - The Secret Transit Codes of America's Highways (short film)
* 2004 - All That You Love Will Be Carried Away (short film)
* 2004 - Riding the Bullet
* 2005 - I Know What You Need (short film)
* 2006 - Desperation (TV miniseries)
* 2006 - Nightmares and Dreamscapes: From the stories of Stephen King
* 2006 - Suffer the Little Children (short film)
* 2007 - 1408
* 2007 - The Mist

http://bestsellers.about.com/od/step...king_films.htm

[KoboldKiller]

This is the only person to play Roland.

[Uska]

Havent liked any of his books since It and the only one turned into a movie that I really thought was good was Misery although the stand was bareable as a made for tv thing.

[Darkrok]

Clint Eastwood would have been perfect a few decades ago. I don't mind Viggo but he seems too introspective. Jason Statham wouldn't be a bad choice either.

[Memnir]

The Dark Tower series is perhaps my all-time favorite story-arc in printed media.
I will admit that I'm beyond hesitant to see this come to film/TV, and don't believe it to be a matter of if it gets screwed up - but how badly.


If they had to do it at all - I wish to hell they'd gone with Frank Darabont and not Ron Howard. I think Mr. Howard's best days as a director are behind him - and I'm afraid he doesn't have the stones to tell parts of Roland's story the way it should be told. Darabont, on the other hand, has been at the helm of some of the best translations of King's work to hit the screen.


I think they should have left it well enough alone - and I say that as a die hard fan.

[KoboldKiller]

As long as they don't do a horrid job like IT then we should be ok.

Speaking of which I wouldn't mind a GOOD update of that movie.

[flynnjsw]

Clint Eastwood would have been perfect a few decades ago. I don't mind Viggo but he seems too introspective. Jason Statham wouldn't be a bad choice either.

The Dark Tower series is perhaps my all-time favorite story-arc in printed media.
I will admit that I'm beyond hesitant to see this come to film/TV, and don't believe it to be a matter of if it gets screwed up - but how badly.


If they had to do it at all - I wish to hell they'd gone with Frank Darabont and not Ron Howard. I think Mr. Howard's best days as a director are behind him - and I'm afraid he doesn't have the stones to tell parts of Roland's story the way it should be told. Darabont, on the other hand, has been at the helm of some of the best translations of King's work to hit the screen.


I think they should have left it well enough alone - and I say that as a die hard fan.

I am always hesitant when seeing film adaptions of books. The worst ever imo was Starship Troopers, but I digress.

I think Clint in his younger years would have made a good Roland, and now that he is not so young I would have rather have seen Clint Direct/Produce it than Ron Howard.

[Pinepeak]

Ralph Fienes. Not that I would play it but I've been thinking it's odd there's no Stephen King video game.

[Astraghal]

I enjoyed the first few books in the series but found the last few disappointing. I feel that story started out well, but King lost direction with it as he progressed.

Harrison Ford would have made a good Roland when he was younger.

I agree that Viggo Mortensen or Hugh Jackman would be an excellent choice.

I think Jason Statham would be a terrible choice.

An unknown could work really well too.

[Otherworld]

He has to look kinda like Clint. (Isn't it even stated like that in the series?)

EDIT: Now I remember. In the version I read there were short chapters about how King developped the characters and stuff and he based Roland on the nameless western hero played by Clint Eastwood.

[Scraap]

He has to look kinda like Clint. (Isn't it even stated like that in the series?)

Ice cold "Bombardier's Eyes" were the most distinguishing features mentioned over and over again. That and a dessicated frame (skinny due to malnourishment, though retaining a wiry sort of health. It is mostly set in a post-apocalyptic time-line(Ok, more time quintuple-helix, but meh)).

[netops]

Just before Jake comes across the young Eddie and Henry, he sees a poster of Clint and thinks '....its almost him. Its the eyes mostly ... the eyes are the same.' So to be true to the books he should have similar eyes to Clint. Given Rolands 'age' Clint may be a good choice.

[netops]

Not that I would play it but I've been thinking it's odd there's no Stephen King video game.

There is an internet-based Dark Tower experience, that I am sure was originaly listed as an online game based on the Dark Tower seriese. I haven't played it either.

http://www.stephenking.com/discordia/