It has been a while since Matthew McConaughey has appeared in any film or TV series, but the wait is about to end soon because the “Interstellar” star is being eyed to star in an upcoming film adaptation of Stephen King‘s “The Dark Tower” franchise.
Multiple sources told Variety that McConaughey has been offered to play Walter Padick aka “The Man in Black” in Sony and MRC’s big screen adaptation of King’s “The Dark Tower”.
Paddick is a demonic sorcerer who gunslinger Roland Deschain pursues in the first “Dark Tower” book. He first appears as Randall Flagg in King’s “The Strand”. TheWrap noted that McConaughey was initally being eyed to portray Ronald, but subsequent trade reports stated that he is “leaning towards embracing his dark side” through the Man in Black role. McConaughey was also offered to play Flagg.
The script has been delivered to McConaughey, but he has yet to decide whether he wants to star in it or not.
Insiders insist that it’s early to confirm McConaughey’s casting, but they admit that there have been preliminary discussions and both parties may strike a deal soon.
“The Gunslinger” will be the first book in King’s series to be adapted into the live-action film. Nikolaj Arcel will be directing it based on a screenplay writen by Akiva Goldsman and Jeff Pinkner. Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, and Erica Huggins will produce it for Imagine Entertainment, who has been planning to develop “The Dark Tower” for many years. They will produce alongside Goldsman and his Weed Road banner.
Pinkner is also expected to executive produce with Modi Wiczyk of MRC, which is also developing a companion TV series that’s long been part of the adaptation plans.
Meanwhile, McConaughey was also rumored to play a villain in Josh Boone‘s adaptation of King’s “The Stand”. However, the project is still in development at Warner Bros. and it’s unclear when it will begin production.
“The Dark Tower” is slated for release on 13th January 2017.
