From /Film:
Stephen King fans were very optimistic over the last couple of years as J.J. Abrams’ company Bad Robot held the option on King’s expansive, ambitious series The Dark Tower. Easy to see why — King’s labyrinthine, multi-layered storyline seems like perfect raw material for the guys behind Lost. But that wasn’t to be, as Abrams, Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof decided they couldn’t do the story justice, and gave the option back to King.
Now there are new players: Ron Howard, Brian Grazer and Akiva Goldsman are reportedly taking the rights to The Dark Tower, and their plans are just as ambitious as the books.
THR and Deadline both report on this, and each outlet describes a slightly different deal. In each, Akiva Goldsman would write a feature that Ron Howard would direct and Goldsman and Brian Grazer would produce. That feature would lead into a TV series that finished out the story. But THR says one feature, and Deadline says a trilogy, before the TV series begins. Quite a difference.
Hmm…. Whenever Hollywood money is involved, I take news with a grain of salt. Maybe even a teaspoon, given the conflicting reports coming in about the deal. And, well, a five-pound bag of sodium when it involves a film (or a trilogy of films) leading into a television continuation.
In other words, I’ll believe it when I see it. I’m still bummed that Cuse and Abrams dropped out of the project, given their obvious attachment to the source material.
