The Dark Tower TV Series Adds The Walking Dead's Glen Mazzara As Showrunner
The movie version of The Dark Tower hasn't even had its wide release yet, but plans are already moving forward for a TV adaptation. According to The Hollywood Reporter, The Walking Dead's Glen Mazzara has signed on to be the showrunner for the project, which is in development with Media Rights Capital and Sony Pictures Television.
Based on the novels by Stephen King, The Dark Tower follows the rivalry between the last Gunslinger Roland Deschain and his eternal nemesis Walter O'Dim, also known as the Man in Black. Roland is determined to stop the Man in Black from toppling the Dark Tower, which holds the universe together. In the film, Idris Elba takes on the role of Roland, while Matthew McConaughey plays the sinister Man in Black.
The film has received a mostly negative reception thus far, with many critics saying that it oversimplified the story and failed to grasp the complex world building that was such a key part of King's novels. A TV series would have the chance to remedy this through it's longer runtime, and it would also have one of the movie's best pieces already on board– Elba, set to reprise his role as Roland Deschain.
Tom Taylor's Jake and Dennis Haysbert's Steven Deschain are also set to return for the TV series, which would follow a younger Roland and his group as shown in Wizard in Glass, the fourth book in the Dark Tower series. Despite the overlap, the series is said to be "independent" of the TV series, and, although it will show Roland before the events of the film, insiders say not to describe the project as a prequel, with the moniker of origin story more fitting.
Mazzara is set to run the day-to-day operations of the TV series, which will get a script from the film's Nicolaj Arcel and Anders Thomas Jensen. The TV adaptation is still in its early stages, but it's being pitched as a project aiming for a straight-to-series order between 10 and 13 episodes. No network has been attached yet, but THR says they are looking for a cable or streamer. The studios are looking to start production in 2018, although nothing is certain yet.
"I've been a Stephen King fan for decades and the opportunity to adapt The Dark Tower as a TV series is a great honor," Mazzara said. "The events of The Gunslinger, Wizard & Glass, The Wind Through the Keyhole, and other tales need a long format to capture the complexity of Roland's coming of age— how he became the Gunslinger, how Walter became the Man in Black, and how their rivalry cost Roland everything and everyone he ever loved. I could not be more excited to tell this story. It feels like being given the key to a treasure chest. And oh yeah, we'll have billy-bumblers!"
Akiva Goldsman, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, and Jeff Pinkner are all set to executive produce the series. While we wait to learn more about the series, read up on the untold truth of the stories on which it will be based.