Stephen King's Epic "The Dark Tower" - Part 2

[The Lazarus Pit]

The movie is so horrible and they could just easily make a tv show without people getting confused. It left virtually no impression.

After Sandman, Netflix really is the perfect place for it.

Adapt The Gunslinger for season 1 instead of doing a Wizard and Glass adaptation as was attempted for the failed show.

The movie shouldn’t even be discussed as a reason not to try again. It should be the opposite and provide fuel and an idea of what NOT to do.

Also to anyone who hasn’t read the series, I urge you to read the first two books. The first book is good but it really gets going in the second one.

Thomas Jane for Roland Deschain

 

[TheVileOne]

The movie is so horrible and they could just easily make a tv show without people getting confused. It left virtually no impression.

After Sandman, Netflix really is the perfect place for it.

Adapt The Gunslinger for season 1 instead of doing a Wizard and Glass adaptation as was attempted for the failed show.

The movie shouldn’t even be discussed as a reason not to try again. It should be the opposite and provide fuel and an idea of what NOT to do.

Also to anyone who hasn’t read the series, I urge you to read the first two books. The first book is good but it really gets going in the second one.

Thomas Jane for Roland Deschain

Not with how cancel-happy Netflix tends to be. They are also dragging their feet on Sandman despite the acclaim and fan support. Everything they do is based on data and analytics.

Amazon Prime Video commissioned a pilot and then canceled it.

‘The Dark Tower’ Series Adaptation Not Going Forward At Amazon – Deadline

I don't think it's the failure of the movie that is the main type of problem, but that it's difficult source material to get corporations to buy into right now. They want MCU or the next Game of Thrones right now. Not Dark Tower.

Case in point when the movie finally did happen after years of development, it was whittled down and dumbed down so it lost all its impact. Same thing basically happened with The Witcher in S2.

 

[MadVillainy]

I honestly don’t think the movie left enough of any kind of cultural memory for people to be confused about a tv adaptation.

True especially since it's been 5 years but I think it's better to be safe than sorry.
When people type in "The Dark Tower" into Google you don't want them reminded or even get confused...then again its been 5 years.

And "The Dark Tower" sounds so generic so does The Gunslinger but at least that sounds a bit cooler imo haha.

But either way it'd be fine. They probably won't even get another adaptation for another 10 years

 

[MadVillainy]

The movie is so horrible and they could just easily make a tv show without people getting confused. It left virtually no impression.

After Sandman, Netflix really is the perfect place for it.

Adapt The Gunslinger for season 1 instead of doing a Wizard and Glass adaptation as was attempted for the failed show.

The movie shouldn’t even be discussed as a reason not to try again. It should be the opposite and provide fuel and an idea of what NOT to do.

Also to anyone who hasn’t read the series, I urge you to read the first two books. The first book is good but it really gets going in the second one.

Thomas Jane for Roland Deschain

Netflix has been having issues lately so I'm not sure. Amazon could've been good but they passed maybe they can circle around on it.
HBO is always the go to and I think it would've went over well even with the HBO turmoil. But with Game of Thrones and Last of Us, I can see them being cool on doing another big budget drama

EDIT: FX would be dope. I always though in terms of quality that they're very under appreciated.

 

[DarkKnight88]

I guess the issue with Netflix (and is probably happening with Sandman) there's no guarantee of a second season. Amazon and HBO sometimes commit to more. With a big budget, unless the viewers tune in in great numbers for that first season, that may be all we get with Netflix.

Funny enough, I'm reading The Drawing of the Three and all I'm imagining is Idris Elba as Roland and it's working really well, so that movie wasn't a complete loss.

 

[The Lazarus Pit]

Idris Elba as Roland is a bad casting choice because it completely changes the dynamic between Roland and Detta. I’m usually pretty ok with race swapping characters, but here there is actually an in-story reason NOT to. I would hope in the next adaptation they don’t make the same mistake. There are plenty of other characters that could be race swapped.

The John Wick movies convinced me Keanu Reeves is someone who could actually be a great Roland. His natural stoicism and acting style could work really well. Eddie Dean is Roland’s mouthpiece after all, and Keanu excels as the strong silent type.

 

[Deck Rickard]

I truly hope this finally happens and is done right; Flanagan is clearly a fan of King’s work and I think he would strive to make it a faithful adaptation.

That said, I understand why it would be a big risk for any steaming service. It’s a popular series but nowhere nearly as well-known as LOTR. And once you get into the more fantastical parts of the story, it would get expensive. And like Vile said, Netflix is being wishy washy about renewing Sandman due to its cost, even with the overwhelmingly positive reception it’s received.

That said, if you do each season as one book, the first two probably wouldn’t be terribly expensive. The Gunslinger mostly takes place in a desert and wouldn’t require a ton of special effects or elaborate sets. The Drawing of the Three takes place primarily in our world (albeit in three different time periods) so that likely wouldn’t cost too much. If season three is The Waste Lands, that would require a much higher budget BUT if the series is popular and people are into it by then (book fans and casual fans alike) then that would give the streaming service the confidence to up the budget. I would liken it to Game of Thrones; the first couple seasons didn’t have huge battles or a lot of expensive effects sequences for the dragons. But after the show became a phenomenon, it gave HBO the confidence to up the budget considerably.

Of course, there’s still the aesthetic of The Dark Tower and a question of whether a Weird West setting could appeal to people as much as a medieval one. It might not but… Westworld has proven to be successful for HBO and stylistically it has a lot in common with TDT. So I think there’s a good chance it could be a hit with more than just fans of the book. Especially with a talent like Flanagan at the helm.

 

[OtherwiseKnownAs]

Wizard and Glass is my favourite in the series, but I wonder if you could make an audience stick around for a season-long flashback.

 

[Deck Rickard]

Wizard and Glass is my favourite in the series, but I wonder if you could make an audience stick around for a season-long flashback.

It’s a good question. The canceled Amazon series actually started with that story and (I think) wove in the stuff that happened before with Roland becoming a gunslinger. I’m 50/50 on whether that would have worked but I still hope that pilot surfaces somewhere eventually.

 

[TheVileOne]

True especially since it's been 5 years but I think it's better to be safe than sorry.
When people type in "The Dark Tower" into Google you don't want them reminded or even get confused...then again its been 5 years.

And "The Dark Tower" sounds so generic so does The Gunslinger but at least that sounds a bit cooler imo haha.

But either way it'd be fine. They probably won't even get another adaptation for another 10 years

I like the title. I think it sounds cool and mysterious. It makes me want to learn more about it.

 

[Persona]

If Flanagan ever did this series, man, what an absolute dream that would be.

Still kills me that the Amazon pilot is just locked away somewhere. I really liked the cast in theory and Bear McCreary did the score.

 

[Silvermoth]

Really? Wow I would have loved to hear his score

 

[The Lazarus Pit]

I know a lot of people love Wizard and Glass. For the same reason it’s many people’s favorite, it’s probably my least favorite. Rhea is a great villain, and it’s an important part of the saga, but i wanted to return to the main storyline while reading it.

 

[Lily Adler]

It’s a good question. The canceled Amazon series actually started with that story and (I think) wove in the stuff that happened before with Roland becoming a gunslinger. I’m 50/50 on whether that would have worked but I still hope that pilot surfaces somewhere eventually.

Amazon realized which seasons of The Walking Dead Mazzara had done and pulled the plug.

 

[The Lazarus Pit]

MIKE FLANAGAN’S
THE DARK TOWER



Roland Deschain - Thomas Jane

Eddie Dean - Oliver Jackson Cohen

Susannah Dean - Tahirah Sharif

Jake Chambers - Jacob Tremblay

Oy - Rory Cochrane

Father Callahan - Bruce Greenwood



Patrick Danville - Igby Riney

Calvin Tower - Timothy Hutton

Young Roland - Paxton Singleton

Cuthbert Allgood - Julian Hilliard

Susan Delgado - McKenna Grace

Cort Andrus - Robert Longstreet

Alice the Barmaid - Kate Siegel

Ted Brautigan - Rahul Kohli



The Man in Black - Henry Thomas

The Crimson King - Mark Hamill

Jack Mort - Hamish Linklater

Enrico Balazar - Cliff Curtis

Blaine The Mono - Ewan McGregor

Tick Tock Man - Dash Mihok

Rhea - Annabeth Gish

Cordelia Delgado - Samantha Sloyan



Eldred Jonas - Zahn McClarnon

Roy Depape - Zach Gifford

Mordred Deschain - Benjamin Evan Ainsworth

Mia - Rebecca Ferguson

Dandelo - Carel Struyken

Richard Patrick Sayre - Doug Jones

Stephen Deschain - Michael Trucco

Gabrielle Deschain - Carla Gugino
​

 

[Persona]

Amazon realized which seasons of The Walking Dead Mazzara had done and pulled the plug.

?

He did the 2nd and 3rd seasons. I know the 2nd season was a money-saver slow-burn but it looks better in hindsight compared to the latter seasons. The 3rd season is largely considered one of the best, if not best (it's my 2nd favorite after the first season).

He also did good work on The Shield. From his interviews I think he had some good ideas about how to adapt The Dark Tower for TV. But the pilot they shot was very expensive and Amazon did not think the show would be successful enough to justify the budget, especially as they were already funnelling a lot of money into two other fantasy properties, Wheel of Time and Rings of Power.

 

[Lily Adler]

?

He did the 2nd and 3rd seasons. I know the 2nd season was a money-saver slow-burn but it looks better in hindsight compared to the latter seasons. The 3rd season is largely considered one of the best, if not best (it's my 2nd favorite after the first season).

He also did good work on The Shield. From his interviews I think he had some good ideas about how to adapt The Dark Tower for TV. But the pilot they shot was very expensive and Amazon did not think the show would be successful enough to justify the budget, especially as they were already funnelling a lot of money into two other fantasy properties, Wheel of Time and Rings of Power.

As someone who wanted to like Season 3 after the Purgatory of the farm, I thought it was okay, but it was the last season I watched regularly.

 

[Persona]

Fair enough. I kept watching through season 7 and it was nothing but downhill after S3.

 

[Deck Rickard]

I seriously can’t believe Walking Dead has been around as long as it has. I guess people really do enjoy shows where nothing. Ever. Happens.

 

[OtherwiseKnownAs]

Is TWD still going?

 

[Lily Adler]

Fair enough. I kept watching through season 7 and it was nothing but downhill after S3.

I think it's cause I loved Andrea and what they did to her turned me off to the series as a whole.

 

[Lily Adler]

Is TWD still going?

I think it's just spinoffs now.

 

[Doctor Jones]

It's in its final season. The best season is season one period. Went downhill after Darabont left.

If they had kept him it would be one of the best shows of all time.

 

[Persona]

It's in its final season. The best season is season one period. Went downhill after Darabont left.

If they had kept him it would be one of the best shows of all time.

Well, I also think it’s the kind of show that shouldn't have more than 5 seasons, max. The premise doesn't lend itself to this many seasons, it gets way too redundant.

 

[MadVillainy]

Well, I also think it’s the kind of show that shouldn't have more than 5 seasons, max. The premise doesn't lend itself to this many seasons, it gets way too redundant.

Yeah that's the death knell for so many shows. 5 seasons maaaaybe 6 is a good run for most serialized shows. Even sitcoms. After that they usually run out of story, just keep repeating the same things, etc.