“There’s another world out there, I know there is.”
Unless if you’ve been living under a rock or anywhere where there’s no Internet connection, then you must’ve at least heard that Stephen King’s “The Dark Tower” book series is getting a film treatment. In fact, we are only a couple of weeks away from the film’s release!
Directed and co-written by Nikolaj Arcel (of “A Royal Affair” fame), the premise of the movie is as follows:
“Jake Chambers is an 11-year-old adventure seeker who discovers clues about another dimension called Mid-World. Upon following the mystery, he is spirited away to Mid-World where he encounters a Gunslinger, Roland Deschain, who is on a quest to reach the ‘Dark Tower’ that resides in End-World and reach the nexus point between time and space that he hopes will save all existence from extinction by Hell. But with various monsters and a vicious sorcerer named Walter o’Dim, the Man in Black hot on their trail, the unlikely duo find that their quest may be difficult to complete.”
Not convinced that you should watch the movie?
Here are some fun facts about “The Dark Tower”:
1. It’s a multiverse: Unlike other fictional worlds, “The Dark Tower” features a sprawling gothic multiverse, which means that there’s a whole slew of alternate universes. So many worlds upon worlds upon worlds, it will make your head spin. Also, in “The Dark Tower”, there are ways to travel from one universe to another by the use of magic and science!
2. It took them a while: The project has been ongoing since 2007 (that’s 10 years!) with periodic reports and official announcements. To date, the proposed film adaptation has gone through 3 major phases of planning: J. J. Abrams from 2007 to 2009, Ron Howard from 2010 to 2015, and then Nikolaj Arcel with Ron Howard remaining in a producing role.
3. Matthew McConaughey plays a villain: Surprise, surprise. Matthew McConaughey is creepy baddie Walter o’Dim aka Walter Padick aka The Man in Black. If you’ve been following Matthew’s work for long enough, you’d know that it’s a role that the 47-year-old actor has not often taken on in his career. A villainous Matthew McConaughey for a change? Yes please.
4. Idris Elba vs. Matthew McConaughey: Where there’s an antagonist, there’s bound to be a protagonist. “The Dark Tower” will pit Matthew McConaughey’s The Man in Black, who is bent on destroying the “Dark Tower”, against Idris Elba‘s Roland Deschain/The Gunslinger, who is sworn to protect the “Dark Tower”.
5. It’s only the beginning: “The Dark Tower” will actually be a sort of sequel to the book series in a way, but it borrows heavily the first book, “The Gunslinger” (the first novel of the series). Essentially, this means that it leaves room for a lot more stories to tell in the future movies! Although no follow-up movies have been announced as of yet, this could be the start of an epic movie series.
Watch the trailer below:
“The Dark Tower” will be released in cinemas nationwide on 3rd August 2017.
For more information, hit up the movie’s Facebook page.
Sources: Screen Rant, The Dark Tower Wiki, TIME, Collider.
