Stephen King’s Dark Tower series is one of his most popular works, following the Gunslinger, a man traveling a vast, devastated landscape in order to stop The Man in Black from reaching the titular Dark Tower and all of the people he meets along the way. Fans of the series have been dying to see how the series would be translated, and now we get the first solid look at Mid-World and its inhabitants.
The movie follows Jake Chambers, a young man who has visions of Mid-World, including the adventures of the Gunslinger. One day, he finds a portal to Mid-World and meets the Gunslinger from his dream. He follows him as he chases after the Man in Black, who is attempting to destroy the Dark Tower and with it, the world. Many are describing this as a sort of sequel to the book series, as it will not follow the events of the books exactly, which given the ending of the book series does make sense (but you’ll have to find those spoilers elsewhere). Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey are seamless in their roles as Roland and the Man in Black, and the action is beautifully put together. It looks like this is going to be one of those Stephen King adaptations that live up to the hype.
There may be one Easter Egg hidden in the trailer. On the Jake’s therapist’s desk, there is a picture of a building that looks suspiciously like the Overlook Hotel from King’s other famous work The Shining. Perhaps just some universe connecting, as the Dark Tower connects all worlds, or maybe it is hinting that the therapist is Danny Torrence, the child from the book. There also is a scene in which Jake comes across the “Pennywise Circus” which is a clear reference to Pennywise the Dancing Clown, one of the many forms of the monster from IT.
There will also be a Dark Tower prequel TV series that will adapt some parts of the books set to come out in 2018, though there are no solid details yet except that Elba will reprise his role.
The Dark Tower will debut in theaters on August 4, 2017.
