Mike Flanagan's Adaptation of Stephen King's 'The Dark Tower'

[Silvermoth]

It’s funny, people love westerns and fantasy. Shouldn’t have been so hard to merge them

 

[Persona]

For all we know this pilot could be worse than the movie and would've tarnished the brand even worse, so better to kill it now before it gets out there and cancelled after one season.

Try again in a couple of years with a series or movie. They just need the right director with a clear creative vision. Mike Flanagan seems to get Stephen King.

The two Mazzara scripts that people have read have been widely praised. They assembled a really strong cast and technical crew for the pilot. They spent a lot of time on it. Those who have seen it are praising it on Twitter. Joy Blake, one of the Outlander producers, said it was the best pilot she had ever seen.

I don't really think this had anything to do with quality. It was a financial decision for Amazon as they are in it deep now with two other fantasy series, LotR and Wheel of Time. The Dark Tower is an esoteric property that just a couple years ago saw a movie flop hard despite it having the names of King, Elba, and McConaughey on it, and I'm sure The Dark Tower show was not going to be a cheap one to do. I also am sure the receipts are starting to add up heftily for their two flagship fantasy shows and Amazon probably already knew they were likely going to pass before they saw The Dark Tower pilot.

If this producer team can't get this off the ground, then it is going to be a long time before we see someone else try to take a stab. I think our best hope for getting The Dark Tower any time within the next 5 years is if Mazzara finds another backer when he shops these scripts he wrote. Netflix might be willing to give it a go since The Witcher was such a big hit for them.

 

[DarkKnight88]

The two Mazzara scripts that people have read have been widely praised. They assembled a really strong cast and technical crew for the pilot. They spent a lot of time on it. Those who have seen it are praising it on Twitter. Joy Blake, one of the Outlander producers, said it was the best pilot she had ever seen.

That means nothing. How many times have we heard how good the script was of a certain project and it’s then executed horribly. Look who directed it. Not exactly a visionary. I don’t know, I’m not saying the script wasn’t good enough to get the project greenlit, but the pilot could still be crap regardless of that.

 

[Persona]

I mean, yeah, we dunno.

But the larger point is that if this completely falls through it is going to be an even longer time before someone else takes a stab at it.

 

[Silvermoth]

It’s weird to think there’s probably kids out there today who will be old enough to play Roland in the reboot one day before we know it

 

[Deck Rickard]

What are the chances the pilot leaks online? Who has said they have actually seen it? Anyone of note?

I'm just hoping for a Deadpool type of miracle here where the pilot leaks and get such praise that Amazon (or a hungrier streaming service with some cash to burn) decides to give it a go.

 

[Persona]

Most of the people involved in making it saw it, Amazon execs obviously, and some other producers. As I mentioned, Joy Blake, who has produced several TV series including Outlander, said it was the best pilot she had ever seen.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

Seems strange that they canned it if the pilot was so good, but who knows at this point, gonna be a while until we ever see and adaptation of this it seems.

 

[DarkKnight88]

Most of the people involved in making it saw it, Amazon execs obviously, and some other producers. As I mentioned, Joy Blake, who has produced several TV series including Outlander, said it was the best pilot she had ever seen.

Judging by the quality of Outlander, that ain’t saying much.

 

[Persona]

A lot of people like Outlander.

I dunno why you are determined to be negative about this pilot. It's true, we don't have much to go on that's unbiased, but it was absolutely a talented cast and crew, everyone who has read the scripts has said they are good--including third parties like Scott Wampler--and I just wish we could all see it and judge for ourselves.

Instead, who knows if/when we get another adaptation attempt. The movie flopping and this not even getting a season order are going to be pretty discouraging for any other creatives to invest the sort of time Mazzara did in it. Three years of the dude's life, not to mention the year of production that a lot of others spent on it. Our best hope is some other network or streamer picking it up from him.

 

[Persona]

Seems strange that they canned it if the pilot was so good, but who knows at this point, gonna be a while until we ever see and adaptation of this it seems.

Like I said, it's almost a conflict of interest for Amazon. They're spending billions on LotR, are heavily invested in WoT at this point, too... I think whenever they figured out that they were committed to WoT, then they probably kind of knew they likely weren't going to spend much on a third fantasy series running at the same time as their other two flagships in the genre.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

This just crossed my mind, and I got curious if we knew when it was going to come out... goddamnit. I get the feeling show's structure and cost doomed it. Especially with the money they have to spend on their LotR project. Should have done a straight adaptation of The Gunslinger for season 1. Would have been cheaper, and more engaging. forking stupid.

 

[Deck Rickard]

Why do people feel like Wizard and Glass isn't engaging? I understand why people want to see The Gunslinger adapted first, but W&G is a great story and if there's any place other than The Gunslinger where you could start the series, that would be it. Because if you tried to do TG first, then you'd probably have to skip Roland's flashbacks, since young Roland, Cuthbert and Alain would have to be around the same age when they appear again in the fourth season.

 

[Fincher]

I liked Wizard and Glass in spite of the flashback portion. I didn't like Susan Delgado at all and felt the whole thing dragged. I was still hoping it would work better in the show, though.

 

[Man in the Suit]

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Why do people feel like Wizard and Glass isn't engaging? I understand why people want to see The Gunslinger adapted first, but W&G is a great story and if there's any place other than The Gunslinger where you could start the series, that would be it. Because if you tried to do TG first, then you'd probably have to skip Roland's flashbacks, since young Roland, Cuthbert and Alain would have to be around the same age when they appear again in the fourth season.

I know this is an older post, but I just saw it and felt like responding.

It isn't really a problem with Wizard and Glass for me. It's the "worst" of the original 4 books imo, but I enjoy it well enough, especially the flashbacks. My issue is how it effects the cost of trying to make a show, while starting with an actor we can't get attached to. Yeah, Roland is the same character. But adult Roland is who we spend far, far more time with. The actor would be the anchor of the show. Beyond that, it would just be much cheaper to adapt the first two books for the first season or two.

Also when adapting the Dark Tower, you have to start with the first scene imo. It is the scene that establishes not only the premise but:

Spoiler

The cycle itself. I honestly would question any storyteller who thought it shouldn't be that way.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

I am going to have to listen to this. To be annoyed either way of course.

 

[Snow Queen]

This getting dragged up got me curious about who was making it previously. Damien, Life, Hawthorne, Criminal Minds: Suspect Behaviour, Crash the TV series... maybe this was a bullet dodged for the property.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

This getting dragged up got me curious about who was making it previously. Damien, Life, Hawthorne, Criminal Minds: Suspect Behaviour, Crash the TV series... maybe this was a bullet dodged for the property.

Reading this made me go check out Hawthorne. I remember the ads for that back in the day. I remember it looking awful. The reviews I saw were hilarious.

 

[Persona]

This getting dragged up got me curious about who was making it previously. Damien, Life, Hawthorne, Criminal Minds: Suspect Behaviour, Crash the TV series... maybe this was a bullet dodged for the property.

But also the good seasons of Walking Dead and The Shield.

TV quality can be a dodgy thing that depends on a ton of variables. All in all I certainly think Mazzara was capable of something good with this property. And I feel horrible about all the time that cast and crew spent trying to translate a beloved property to the screen and their efforts will never be seen.

Michael Rooker recently confirmed he was Eldred Jonas and posted a couple pictures of him in costume that looked do great.

 

[Persona]

Amazing episode of the Kingcast, honestly hurts hearing Glen talk about the pilot and how much depth of thought and investment he put into his adaptation plans for the whole series. I think he really figured out how to make this thing work for TV. As I look back thru this thread I was right on about the reasoning for the decisions they were making (not to brag, lol). He also mentions a few really inspired specific adaptation choices, sooo smart. Hearing Eric Vespe and Scott Wampler talk about the pilot (which they somehow got to see, jerks)... Oh man. I want to cry.

Bear McCreary also tweeted about this and how proud he was of his score and how it was the most unique thing he had done and how bummed he is that no one will get to hear it or see the pilot.

Sob.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

But also the good seasons of Walking Dead and The Shield.

TV quality can be a dodgy thing that depends on a ton of variables. All in all I certainly think Mazzara was capable of something good with this property. And I feel horrible about all the time that cast and crew spent trying to translate a beloved property to the screen and their efforts will never be seen.

Michael Rooker recently confirmed he was Eldred Jonas and posted a couple pictures of him in costume that looked do great.

He took over show running after the only good season of the Walking Dead imo. He was the beginning of the end, with the overt studio interference. All the really dumb early stuff that doomed later seasons was under his watch. The creator, showrunner and head writer of the Shield was Shawn Ryan. The entire time according to Google.

You can argue that television quality has a lot of variables. But when you are the inception of the show, it's creator, the vast majority of those variables stop and start with you. When the network decided they wanted to murder Person of Interest, that didn't keep Nolan and his team from making damn good television. That Yost created the Americans after creating Justified, makes sense. For better and worse, all of Joss Whedon's shows felt like Joss Whedon.

Mazzara's created shows are pretty terrible. Maybe he pulled something out here. But his track record doesn't suggest that is likely, and whatever heartfelt praise others might have had for a job they wanted to keep, that doesn't really change that Amazon apparently thought it wasn't good enough to pick up. Not that Amazon is a bastion of great television decision making, but they spent the money.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Amazing episode of the Kingcast, honestly hurts hearing Glen talk about the pilot and how much depth of thought and investment he put into his adaptation plans for the whole series. I think he really figured out how to make this thing work for TV. As I look back thru this thread I was right on about the reasoning for the decisions they were making (not to brag, lol). He also mentions a few really inspired specific adaptation choices, sooo smart. Hearing Eric Vespe and Scott Wampler talk about the pilot (which they somehow got to see, jerks)... Oh man. I want to cry.

Bear McCreary also tweeted about this and how proud he was of his score and how it was the most unique thing he had done and how bummed he is that no one will get to hear it or see the pilot.

Sob.

Oh I just read it... this sounds like the worst possible adaptation and they already made that awful movie. He wanted to start doing the Gunslinger halfway through season 3? His explanation doesn't even make sense. The issue with the way things would have occurred are directly because of his poor decision making on how to adapt the material. It sounds like all time padding because of his bad decision making. No wonder they decided to pass. It honestly sounds convoluted and horrible.

Amazon's Cancelled Dark Tower TV Show’s 3-Season Story Plan Revealed

 

[Snow Queen]

Oh I just read it... this sounds like the worst possible adaptation and they already made that awful movie. He wanted to start doing the Gunslinger halfway through season 3? His explanation doesn't even make sense. The issue with the way things would have occurred are directly because of his poor decision making on how to adapt the material. He sounds like all time padding because of his bad decision making. No wonder they decided to pass. It honestly sounds convoluted and horrible.

Amazon's Cancelled Dark Tower TV Show’s 3-Season Story Plan Revealed

That sounds like it should be filed next to "what if we made a show about Bruce Wayne as a child?"

 

[DarthSkywalker]

That sounds like it should be filed next to "what if we made a show about Bruce Wayne as a child?"

That is not a bad comparison. But somehow worse. Like let's make a Batman show, but don't have Batman actually show up until halfway through season 3, after we played out all the important origin beats, and then kind of have to have him continually remember them as the series goes on, because they are important to explore in the moment.

The reason we watch Roland's past play out the way we do in the original work, where a lot of it is patch work, is because he is basically reliving the same story, and thus in the process we learn why this jaded, coldhearted gunslinger became the way he is, while also watching it be undone at the same time. He is going through the same tale with his new Ka-tet that he went through with his first, but instead of isolating him, it makes him believe in the concept of family again. It's really well done, especially as the make up of his new Ka-tet is basically a bunch of hims.

When you flip that all around, tell it the way it is suggested it should be told here, removes a lot of the mystery, a lot of character arc, and just adds a lot of unnecessary material that slows the narrative to a crawl imo.

When I read what he said about the midway point of season 3, it told me the showrunner did not understand why the story started where it did, or the impact his idea would have on the beginning and end of the story,

Spoiler

final reset or not. Though honestly, I don't know how you take perhaps the most famous aspect of the entire thing, that the story starts where it ends, and abandon that. Especially as it is arguably King's most famous opening line because of it. Well that and because it's rather brilliant.