and it makes me happier than a pig in ****.
Back in 2007, the late Adam Finley asked TV Squad readers if Stephen King's 'The Dark Tower' series could become a miniseries. In his article he said it could be done just as long as whoever adapted the story for television didn't screw it up. Well, Adam, your wish may have come true.
According to Deadline Hollywood, Universal Pictures and NBC Universal Television closed a deal earlier this week to transform King's multi-book series into both a movie and television franchise. Under Universal's plan the movie would be released first, followed closely by the first TV season, and then the second movie in the trilogy.
Already connected to the project are writer Akiva Goldsman and director Ron Howard. Goldsman -- writer of such films as 'Cinderella Man' and the 'The Da Vinci Code' as well as a writer and consulting producer on 'Fringe' --will write the first movie and the first season of the TV series. Howard will do the same on the directing side. It will all be produced by Imagine Entertainment and Howard's partner Brian Grazer.
The plan is to have the first season of the 'Dark Tower' series serve as a bridge between the first and second movies. After the first movie finished filming, the cast would switch over to the television series. After the show taped (or during production), they would prepare for the second film. Critics are comparing this project plan to Peter Jackson's back-to-back filming of 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy.
For the unaware, Stephen King's 'Dark Tower' series focuses on Roland Deschain: the last member of a line of knighted gunslingers. Deschain's goal is to save civilization by reaching a nexus of all universes known as the Dark Tower. Seven books were written in the series as well as a short story prequel and a Marvel Comics graphic novel series penned by comic book authors like Peter David and Jae Lee.
A few years ago, King granted the rights to the series to J.J. Abrams and 'Lost' producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse. However, the trio never got it off the ground due to the series multi-layered plot and multiple characters. Goldsman and Imagine Entertainment grabbed the rights once they became available again.
Universal has not released any casting information, release dates or network pickups for 'The Dark Tower' series. Though, being Universal, there's a good chance it could land on SyFy sometime in the near future
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