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Mike Flanagan to adapt a TV series based on Stephen King's "The Dark Tower"

NecrosaroIII

Ask me about my terrible takes on Star Trek characters
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/t...series-mike-flanagan-stephen-king-1235277872/

The latest stab at King’s supernatural western, which spans eight novels, comes from The Haunting and Doctor Sleep helmer Mike Flanagan and his Intrepid Pictures partner Trevor Macy. The duo have rights to the books, and Flanagan has written a pilot for what he calls his “Holy Grail” of TV work.

“We view it as a as a series that’s going at least five seasons,” Flanagan said in an interview with Deadline. “And having lived with this project as long as I have, I have an enormous amount of it worked out in my brain. But I have a pilot script I’m thrilled with and a very detailed outline for the first season and a broader outline for the subsequent seasons.”
Intrepid Pictures recently signed an overall deal with Amazon Studios after several years with Netflix, which produced two seasons of The Haunting, Midnight Mass and The Midnight Club, along with the forthcoming Fall of the House of Usher. The Dark Tower, however, is carved out of the Amazon deal (and was at Netflix as well), which could allow Flanagan and Macy to shop the project to other outlets if they choose.

The Dark Tower has a fraught Hollywood history that spans more than a decade. In 2010, Universal and Imagine announced an ambitious set of three feature films and a companion TV series, with Ron Howard set to direct the first one and Akiva Goldsman adapting King’s work. Budget concerns led the movies being scrapped, and while Imagine’s Brian Grazer had hoped to land the series at HBO, that too never came to pass.

Fast forward to 2015: Sony and MRC joined Imagine to revive The Dark Tower, again with plans for both films and a TV series. That deal resulted in a 2017 feature starring Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey, and plans for a series delving into the origins of Elba’s character. The Walking Dead and The Shield veteran Glen Mazzara was hired as a showrunner for the series.

The movie had a somewhat disappointing box office showing, grossing $113 million worldwide. The series eventually landed at Amazon’s Prime Video but was retooled to be a more faithful adaptation of King’s sprawling story. It got as far as casting the two leads but didn’t move beyond that.

Flanagan and Macy have a history with adapting King’s works. Flanagan wrote and directed 2019’s Doctor Sleep, a sequel to The Shining, and directed and co-wrote the Netflix feature Gerald’s Game, based on King’s novel of the same title. Macy produced both films.
LFG. I can't wait. Mike Flanagan is perfect for this.
 
Great news. Wonder how they can handle to Odetta stuff.
Can't see some of that flying anymore.
I guess if they can get rid of a child orgy in IT, some racist stuff should be easy.
 
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analog_future

Resident Crybaby
Best news I've heard in a long time.

A fucking 5 season Dark Tower series + 2 full-length films, all helmed by Mike Flanagan.

Literally the dream scenario. I can't believe it.
 
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FunkMiller

Gold Member
Great news. Wonder how they can handle to Odetta stuff.
Can't see some of that flying anymore.
I guess if they can get rid of a child orgy in IT, some racist stuff should be easy.

That would be very stupid, because it informs so much of Susannah's character. The fact she both is a victim and perpetrator of racism is one of the core aspects of Odetta.

But this is EXCELLENT news. Mike Flanagan is absolutely the right choice.
 
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I love the books, but I don't want this

The books are perfect(ish) as they are, and I can't see them recreating those worlds faithfully without changing so much to fit in with 2020's attitude towards certain topics, remembering he published in '82, presumably written late 70's/early 80's, spread over decades

The Dark Tower series is a niche crossover genre as it is, to get actors to give up years and years of their lives and putting their career on hold, for something that maybe die hard fans will like...I dont see it making money or being rated highly enough to do everything they plan on doing, leaving it in discordia and not getting finished

If it fails and is disowned by king, it may ruin the key stone that ties his universe together. I'd rather whomever just do takes on his novels/short stories and leave the Dark Tower to its course, letting the constant reader take the journey across The Mohaine again, and again, and again...
 

NickFire

Member
That would be very stupid, because it informs so much of Susannah's character. The fact she both is a victim and perpetrator of racism is one of the core aspects of Odetta.
100%. She is a main character and her backstory is integral to how she becomes a gunslinger.

This is very exciting news overall, and the breadth of the story is much better suited for a show than a couple movies.

Please stay true to the source material, which is one the best stories in history IMO.
 

FunkMiller

Gold Member
I love the books, but I don't want this

The books are perfect(ish) as they are, and I can't see them recreating those worlds faithfully without changing so much to fit in with 2020's attitude towards certain topics, remembering he published in '82, presumably written late 70's/early 80's, spread over decades

The Dark Tower series is a niche crossover genre as it is, to get actors to give up years and years of their lives and putting their career on hold, for something that maybe die hard fans will like...I dont see it making money or being rated highly enough to do everything they plan on doing, leaving it in discordia and not getting finished

If it fails and is disowned by king, it may ruin the key stone that ties his universe together. I'd rather whomever just do takes on his novels/short stories and leave the Dark Tower to its course, letting the constant reader take the journey across The Mohaine again, and again, and again...

Flanagan and King are good friends. This will be made with his blessing.

And the ending of the books is a bit shit. It needs some changes. King's self indulgent self insertion needs to be scaled back, or even done away with, as well.

Hell, this will be the next
cycle for Roland anyway.
They can change anything they damn well please, and it'll still be in continuity with the books.
 
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Flanagan and King are good friends. This will be made with his blessing.

And the ending of the books is a bit shit. It needs some changes.

Hell, this will be the next
cycle for Roland anyway.
They can change anything they damn well please, and it'll still be in continuity with the books.
I have no issues with
the end of the book or the cycle
to the the degree that I think the film was fine,
assuming that it was a cycle, somewhere along the journey
for what it was. I watched it again recently, it's ok... im sure i heard the director was a fan of the books, hell, he bought the rights to the film from King for $19 dollars and got kings blessing from what I heard

I just don't see this happening to the degree they want it too
 

FunkMiller

Gold Member
I have no issues with
the end of the book or the cycle
to the the degree that I think the film was fine,
assuming that it was a cycle, somewhere along the journey
for what it was. I watched it again recently, it's ok... im sure i heard the director was a fan of the books, hell, he bought the rights to the film from King for $19 dollars and got kings blessing from what I heard

I just don't see this happening to the degree they want it too

This hasn't got anything to do with that movie (thank god). It's a whole new attempt to adapt the books.
 

NickFire

Member
Flanagan and King are good friends. This will be made with his blessing.

And the ending of the books is a bit shit. It needs some changes. King's self indulgent self insertion needs to be scaled back, or even done away with, as well.

Hell, this will be the next
cycle for Roland anyway.
They can change anything they damn well please, and it'll still be in continuity with the books.
I'm not opposed to scaling back SK from it at all. That was one of the weaker parts in the series IMO.

Regarding possible changes, there is one tiny thing I would love to see happen for more suspense near the end for the readers. Make one particular fall an accident (or other involuntary situation). You know what I mean I bet.
 

NecrosaroIII

Ask me about my terrible takes on Star Trek characters
I personally would like to see a bit more of an existentialist approach with the final battle.
 

jason10mm

Gold Member
100%. She is a main character and her backstory is integral to how she becomes a gunslinger.

This is very exciting news overall, and the breadth of the story is much better suited for a show than a couple movies.

Please stay true to the source material, which is one the best stories in history IMO.

Have you SEEN a Mike Flanagan adaptation?

There is ZERO chance this show, if it survives all the challenges before it, will ever even come close to the books. But that's Flanagans power, he can often see what resonates about a book, cull what can't work, and move on from there. So as the primary adapter of King stuff recently, I'd say he is a good choice.

Buuuuuut he is getting over indulgent, particularly with TV. Dark Tower shouldn't be a long, dusty, slow tale, it should hum along with a lot of electricity and spark. So hopefully MF gets a lot of cocaine in his system during the filming :p
 

Winter John

Gold Member
Aww fuck. Not again. This is literally the Silent Hill of book adaptations. We've had years and years of promises, false starts and wild expectations. Most of them started by King himself. Remember when the original plan was to get Ron Howard to make a bunch of movies and have a tv show in between? The best thing everyone can do is ignore King's mad fantasies and just stick with the books.
 

Dr.D00p

Gold Member
Listened to the first audiobook years ago, and came away at the end still not having the first clue what its about...never bothered with the rest.
 

Winter John

Gold Member
You listened to the first book and you didn't get what it was about? Did ya have a head injury? King tells you exactly what the book is about in the first sentence -

"The man in black fled across the desert and the gunslinger followed."​

 

Lunarorbit

Member
Flanagan and King are good friends. This will be made with his blessing.

And the ending of the books is a bit shit. It needs some changes. King's self indulgent self insertion needs to be scaled back, or even done away with, as well.

Hell, this will be the next
cycle for Roland anyway.
They can change anything they damn well please, and it'll still be in continuity with the books.
I got halfway through the 5th book and I couldn't anymore. The Harry Potter/star wars shit and then the cameo in the next book.... I couldn't with the self indulgent bullshit. I understand the "reason" for it (portals and dimensions and what's reality blah blah blah) but after really enjoying wizard and glass this pissed me off.

After such a long break between books it was disappointing. I'll believe it when I see it.
 

FunkMiller

Gold Member
I got halfway through the 5th book and I couldn't anymore. The Harry Potter/star wars shit and then the cameo in the next book.... I couldn't with the self indulgent bullshit. I understand the "reason" for it (portals and dimensions and what's reality blah blah blah) but after really enjoying wizard and glass this pissed me off.

After such a long break between books it was disappointing. I'll believe it when I see it.

The drop in quality after Wizard and Glass is huge. He rushed it after the accident because he wanted to get it done.
 

DKehoe

Member
Is the eight book any good?

Maybe I'll read them all again with the "new" book included.
I liked it. But just so you know, the majority of the story is Roland telling a story about him telling a story that he's not involved in. So if you are looking for more from Roland, Eddie, Susannah and Jake then it's pretty light on that.
 

Lunarorbit

Member
The drop in quality after Wizard and Glass is huge. He rushed it after the accident because he wanted to get it done.
That's right. He got hit by a car in Maine walking his dog I think. I really wanted to like the last couple books but I just read the wiki instead. Rooting for this though. It's a trip reading his books knowing there's the coke phase and then the car accident phase which influenced his writing style
 
That's right. He got hit by a car in Maine walking his dog I think. I really wanted to like the last couple books but I just read the wiki instead. Rooting for this though. It's a trip reading his books knowing there's the coke phase and then the car accident phase which influenced his writing style

Coke Phase?
 

NecrosaroIII

Ask me about my terrible takes on Star Trek characters
Coke Phase?
His 1980s output. Most notably Tommyknockers. He doesn't remember writing it.

In terms of my rankings

III > II > IV > VI > VII > V > I.

I didn't like 1 much. You can definitely tell He was a young writer when he wrote it. But he did II and III at the height of his powers as author. IV is nice, but it doesn't really touch on the backstory part of Roland I cared about. But it's super important to show what Roland will do to achieve his goals.

It took me 5 years to get through V. Curiously enough it's really the first time the Ka Tet really sees Roland's world and interact with its people. 2 and 3 are mostly seeing the action in theory own worlds. And 4 is him telling a story. But here you have them doing shit. I suppose it's not bad. Maybe if I read it again I'd like it better. But I got exhausted reading.

VI is passable. Perhaps a little odd. But some cool stuff happens.

VII is waaaay too dence. It felt like there was enough content for 3 books, with not enough room to breath through any of it. Most of the pure plot of the series is in this book. Hated the final battle, but loved the ending
 
His 1980s output. Most notably Tommyknockers. He doesn't remember writing it.

In terms of my rankings

III > II > IV > VI > VII > V > I.

I didn't like 1 much. You can definitely tell He was a young writer when he wrote it. But he did II and III at the height of his powers as author. IV is nice, but it doesn't really touch on the backstory part of Roland I cared about. But it's super important to show what Roland will do to achieve his goals.

It took me 5 years to get through V. Curiously enough it's really the first time the Ka Tet really sees Roland's world and interact with its people. 2 and 3 are mostly seeing the action in theory own worlds. And 4 is him telling a story. But here you have them doing shit. I suppose it's not bad. Maybe if I read it again I'd like it better. But I got exhausted reading.

VI is passable. Perhaps a little odd. But some cool stuff happens.

VII is waaaay too dence. It felt like there was enough content for 3 books, with not enough room to breath through any of it. Most of the pure plot of the series is in this book. Hated the final battle, but loved the ending

For me Ranking wise


IV > I > III > II > V > VI > VII

I did enjoy the ending of Book VII though. That was an interesting twist. I read these books all at once though, so it's understandable why people who were waiting for the last 3 books ended up being disappointed
 
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FunkMiller

Gold Member
For me Ranking wise


IV > I > III > II > V > VI > VII

I did enjoy the ending of Book VII though. That was an interesting twist. I read these books all at once though, so it's understandable why people who were waiting for the last 3 books ended up being disappointed

Horribly, horribly disappointed. The first four books feel like they’re written by a different, better author.

Imagine waiting years and years to go from Blaine, Lud, Flagg, Wizard & Glass, and the wastelands, to Doctor Doom robots, Harry Potter shit, lightsabers and an evil Santa Claus going eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.
 
Horribly, horribly disappointed. The first four books feel like they’re written by a different, better author.

Imagine waiting years and years to go from Blaine, Lud, Flagg, Wizard & Glass, and the wastelands, to Doctor Doom robots, Harry Potter shit, lightsabers and an evil Santa Claus going eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

Yeah I read these when all 7 books were out, so I can understand the disappointment from fans
 

Lunarorbit

Member
Horribly, horribly disappointed. The first four books feel like they’re written by a different, better author.

Imagine waiting years and years to go from Blaine, Lud, Flagg, Wizard & Glass, and the wastelands, to Doctor Doom robots, Harry Potter shit, lightsabers and an evil Santa Claus going eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

Yeah I read these when all 7 books were out, so I can understand the disappointment from fans
I was totally digging book 5 until it just got so out of hand. I was getting confused when the doombots showed up then there was a snitch and I had to stop for a bit.
When the light Saber showed up I couldn't take it anymore. It was so jarring after reading book 4.
 
I was totally digging book 5 until it just got so out of hand. I was getting confused when the doombots showed up then there was a snitch and I had to stop for a bit.
When the light Saber showed up I couldn't take it anymore. It was so jarring after reading book 4.

I didn't like the pop culture references in the last 3 books either
 
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