For those of you who were looking forward to seeing Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series adapted to the big screen, there may still be reason to hold out hope, as the project is still apparently in the works. As the massive budget was one of the issues holding the adaptation back, it’s unsurprising to learn that a major adjustment to the proposed cost has been made.
Back in July, word was that Universal passed on the project, which would put Stephen King’s popular Dark Tower series on both the big and small screens. The budget and the general scope of the project, which had certain parts of the story set for a theatrical release, and other parts made into a TV series that would bridge the story together between movies, were the reasons Universal walked away from the project. Now, according to Indie Wire, things may be getting back on track as producer Brian Grazer, screenwriter Akiva Goldsman, and director Ron Howard have been working to develop the adaptation, trimming the budget substantially in the process.
IndieWire.com spoke to Grazer briefly about The Dark Tower series, and he stated that they were able to shave $45 million off of the budget, which was originally set at $140 million, and find a way to give the film a more satisfying ending than what they had set up in the original draft. “In the $140 million draft, the ending wasn’t quite as satisfying. Now, we’ve got $45 million, $50 million out of the way and a really satisfying ending. It’s gonna get made,” Grazer said. That sounds pretty confident, although nothing official has been confirmed yet. As Indie Wire notes, while it isn't clear whether Grazer is referring to just one film or a series of films and TV series, he did mention that they’d made changes without “changing the scope,” which suggests that the project they have in mind is still on track with the plan to release the film and connected TV series as they had originally.
Should King fans be celebrating? Well, again, nothing has been set in stone, however it’s definitely good news to hear that the project isn’t completely dead. Attempts are being made to make it happen and from the sound of it, with the talk about a “more satisfying ending,” they’re also looking for ways to improve on their original ideas. Perhaps trimming the budget has inspired them to get a bit more creative with how they tell the story.
