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Arcel will work with screenwriter Anders Thomas Jensen (IN A BETTER WORLD) on a rewrite of the previous draft by Akiva Goldsman and Jeff Pinkner:
Matthew McConaughey has set his sights on an iconic Stephen King villain.
Sources tell Variety that Sony wants McConaughey to play Walter Padick — aka the Man in Black — in Sony and MRC’s adaptation of King’s “The Dark Tower” franchise. McConaughey has just received the script and has not yet decided whether he will star.
Sony and MRC declined to comment.
Padick is a demonic sorcerer who Roland “the gunslinger” pursues in the first book. The character first appears in “The Stand” and goes by the name of Randall Flagg, a character that McConaughey was also offered to play. “The Gunslinger” will be the first in a series of films.
Nikolaj Arcel is directing the movie, which is currently set to bow on Jan. 13, 2017.
The first book, “The Gunslinger,” has already been adapted by Akiva Goldsman and Jeff Pinkner. Goldsman and Imagine Entertainment’s Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Erica Huggins will produce, while Pinkner will exec produce.
Sony will distribute the pic. MRC will also develop a TV series to go along with the film franchise.
McConaughey recently finished filming the Stephen Gaghan drama “Gold” and also has “Sea of Trees” set to bow later this year. He is repped by CAA.
https://variety.com/2015/film/news/matthew-mcconaughey-dark-tower-stephen-king-villain-1201637643/?preview_id=1201637643&preview_nonce=e5c047016e
There is no deal yet, and nobody would comment for the story. But this would give Elba that long-awaited star vehicle that has seemed inevitable, coming after all of the speculative questions over whether the 007 franchise would install an actor of color into the iconic James Bond role after Elba was mentioned as a strong possibility to replace Daniel Craig. King wrote the Deschain character as white — at least that is how he is depicted in the book cover illustrations — but in Elba they get a top actor who has shown in the BBC series Luther and other works that he is a movie star with swagger.
Stephen King confirms stars Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey as production nears start
After many years, and many attempts, a film version of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower is finally getting underway with Idris Elba confirmed as the gunslinger and Matthew McConaughey as the mystical foe known as the man in black.
Both the author and the movie’s director and co-writer, Nikolaj Arcel, spoke exclusively with EW about the plan to begin adapting the six-shooter-and-sorcery tale — which spans eight novels, assorted comic books and short stories, and is frequently referenced throughout King’s body of work.
“The thing is, it’s been a looong trip from the books to the film,” King says, putting it right in context: “When you think about it, I started these stories as a senior in college, sitting in a little sh-tty cabin beside the river in Maine, and finally this thing is actually in pre-production now.” He laughs. “I’m delighted, and I’m a little bit surprised.”
Arcel, who is best known for the 2012 Danish film A Royal Affair and for co-writing the Swedish version of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, says he will start shooting The Dark Tower in South Africa in seven weeks, and Sony Pictures plans to have it in theaters on Jan. 13, 2017.
Arcel will share screenwriting credit with Anders Thomas Jensen, Akiva Goldsman, and Jeff Pinkner. The producers will be Goldman and his Weed Road company; Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, and Erica Huggins of Imagine Entertainment; and Pinkner as executive producer.
“What Stephen King does best is mixing the everyday, or what you might call the mundane, with the fantastical,” says Arcel. “In my view, [The Dark Tower] novels are a mix between sci-fi and fantasy and modern times. That exact mix is so Stephen King.”
King says the movie will open with the first line from the first book. “It should start that way,” he says. “I’ve been pretty insistent about that.” He even tweeted it out today:
It’s easy to imagine that phrase being The Dark Tower’s version of “A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away …,” serving to introduce almost any part of the saga. But this first film will not adapt the plot of the first book, The Gunslinger, published in 1982.
“[The movie] starts in media res, in the middle of the story instead of at the beginning, which may upset some of the fans a little bit, but they’ll get behind it, because it is the story,” King says.
Arcel declined to specify which books his movie focus on, but he did offer this clue: “A lot of it takes place in our day, in the modern world.”
THE PATH OF THE BEAM
For those who haven’t turned the pages of The Dark Tower books, they tell the story of the fallen land of Mid-World through the eyes of Roland Deschain, a sort of frontiersman knight whose primary weapon is not a sword but a pair of revolvers. He’s on a quest to save his decaying world by reaching the tower that stands at the nexus point in time and space.
The man in black – a devil who goes by many names, but mostly Walter Padick or Walter O’Dim – is an ageless deceiver and sorcerer who also seeks to reach the tower and rule over its seemingly infinite kingdoms.
To complete his journey, Roland must call on help from our world, drawing a junkie named Eddie, an amputee named Susannah, and a young boy named Jake into his realm to be part of his ka-tet – the term for a group brought together by destiny. Their yellow brick road is one of the six invisible beams that hold Roland’s world together – and lead directly to the tower itself.
Although Arcel and King aren’t ready to reveal which books the movie may cover, we can use their clues to do a little soothsaying: Since the fourth novel in the eight-book series, 1997’s Wizard and Glass, is almost entirely a flashback about Roland’s youth and lost love, it’s a good guess that the movies may start with 1993’s The Waste Lands, the third book in the series, which is where much of King’s broader tower mythology began to coalesce. Its story involves the ka-tet’s efforts to connect with Jake, who lives in a far-off “where” (New York City) and a different “when” (1977 in the novel – although that could easily be changed to now.) But that’s just speculation.
As for additional casting, Mad Max: Fury Road actress Abbey Lee is reportedly in talks for the role of Tirana, but it’s not clear yet who will play the other main characters. More announcements are expected in the weeks ahead.
For now, Arcel is starting by introducing his hero and villain. Although it may be a surprise to some, who are used to picturing Roland as the blue-eyed white man depicted in the book’s illustrations, he says it was “a no-brainer” to cast Elba as the gunslinger. King agrees.
THE GUNSLINGER
“For me, it just clicked. He’s such a formidable man,” says Arcel, who says he’s been a fan of Elba’s since The Wire. “I had to go to Idris and tell him my vision for the entire journey with Roland and the ka-tet. We discussed, who is this character? What’s he about? What’s his quest? What’s his psychology? We tried to figure out if we saw the same guy. And we absolutely had all the same ideas and thoughts. He had a unique vision for who Roland would be.”
Break out the pitch forks and torches!
But for me just thinking about Elba and McConaughey facing off turns my knees to jelly! Bring it on!!!
Sony Pictures has announced a slight shuffle in their 2017 release schedule, moving around the release dates for three of their upcoming features.
The Dark Tower, which it was recently revealed will begin production in seven weeks in South Africa, has moved from its original release date of January 13, 2017 to February 17, 2017. An adaptation of the Stephen King novel series, the film will open against Universal Pictures and Legendary Pictures’ The Great Wall and 20th Century Fox’s Maze Runner: The Death Cure. Nikolaj Arcel will direct the film which stars Idris Elba as Roland “The Gunslinger” Deschain and Matthew McConaughey as the evil Man in black.
Sources tell Variety that Taylor won the role after a worldwide search to find the young actor who would serve as Roland Deschain’s (Elba) protege in the upcoming films.
McConaughey is on board to play the Man in Black with “Mad Max: Fury Road” actress Abbey Lee also has a role in the film.
Sony and MRC declined to comment.
Nikolaj Arcel is directing the movie, which is currently set to bow on Feb. 17, 2017.
The first installment in the series of books focuses on Roland, the Gunslinger, establishing a relationship with Chambers.
The first book, “The Gunslinger,” has already been adapted by Akiva Goldsman and Jeff Pinkner. Goldsman and Imagine Entertainment’s Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Erica Huggins will produce, while Pinkner will exec produce.
Sony will distribute the pic. MRC will also develop a TV series to go along with the film franchise. Production is set to start sometime this spring.
The role would mark Taylor’s largest to date, having previously appeared in the British television series “Doctor Foster” in a recurring role. He is repped by Independent Talent Group.