It was seven years ago this month that one of the worst Stephen King movies of all time arrived in theaters. Fans spent decades anticipating a proper adaptation of the epic The Dark Tower, but what was delivered following years of the project toiling in development hell was a generic PG-13 blockbuster that barely had any resemblance to its source material. It was a disastrous flop that most King fans want to forget, and anything that helps us in that effort is a good thing. This includes time, any and all news about Mike Flanagan’s developing adaptation… and perhaps King writing a brand new Mid-World story.
Nothing has been confirmed, but for this week’s edition of The King Beat, I figured that I would speculate on the idea based on recent comments from the author and his social media activity. Along with comments about Gary Dauberman’s Salem’s Lot from William Sadler and a new Recommendation Of The Week, it’s a stuffed column, so let’s dig in!
The Story Of Roland Deschain Is Done, But Could Stephen King Be Planning A Return To Mid-World?
If you ask 20 Constant Readers what their favorite Stephen King book is, there is a chance that you’ll get 20 different answers, but I like to think that a consensus can be reached in regards to identifying the author’s masterpiece: The Dark Tower series. Told over the course of seven novels (eight-and-a-half counting The Wind Through The Keyhole and the short story “The Little Sisters Of Eluria”), the tale of Gunslinger Roland Deschain and his ka-tet is an epic of staggering scope – not only introducing and developing a collection of incredible, rich characters adventuring through the vast desolation known as Mid-World, but folding together multiple genres and multiple realities, including both fiction and reality. It’s everything that King does best.
As it exists, I would argue that The Dark Tower series is a perfect whole and doesn’t need any new additions or expansions – but based on recent comments made by King, I’m wondering if he’s not contemplating some kind of return to Mid-World at some point in the not-too-distant future.
Stephen King hasn’t written a story set in Mid-World since the publication of The Wind Through The Keyhole in 2012, but there have been some recent comments and postings that suggest he might be teasing a work in progress. To start, there’s what he said back in July during a recent interview with the Talking Scared podcast. In a multi-tiered question that also inquired about the potential sequel to The Talisman and Black House, host Neil McRobert asked, “Are we ever going to see Mid-World again,” and King seemed to be very careful with his answer. Said the author,
I will say this: the story of Roland and the main story that I had to tell about Mid-World is done. And I’m very happy with those books and the way that they turned out. I feel like something spoke through me when I wrote those books – particularly Wizard and Glass, which is my favorite. That’s another story.
Anyone who has read The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower can surely understand why Stephen King would see Roland Deschain’s journey as being “done” (and I won’t spoil the ending for any of you who haven’t gotten to that tome yet). Simultaneously, however, I can’t help but notice that King didn’t answer the question directly: while he ruled out an expansion of Roland’s story, he didn’t rule out a return to his world.
That brings us to more recent developments. As has been noted many, many times here in The King Beat, Stephen King is a very active Twitter user, and this week, he took the opportunity to Retweet the following post to his seven million-plus followers:
There are no endings. Only new beginnings. pic.twitter.com/rNZ703SzgIAugust 13, 2024
Via the Talking Scared podcast Twitter account, Neil McRobert pondered the potential significance of the Retweet as a hint regarding a return to the world of The Dark Tower, and it wasn’t met with a denial. Instead, Stephen King posted:
Mid-world is still there. The Tower still stands.
Stephen King has continued to make connections to the Dark Tower in his work since The Wind Through The Keyhole (a standout example that comes to mind being 2022’s Gwendy’s Final Task, co-written with Richard Chizmar), but to see him dive back into Mid-World beyond the context of Roland’s tale would be fascinating. Plus, it would be a fascinating thing to see come about in parallel to Mike Flanagan’s work to make the first proper Dark Tower adaptation.
Eyes will be kept peeled for more hints about potential developments, but for now, Stephen King fans can anticipate Always Holly, which the author has announced as his next book following his 2024 collection You Like It Darker.
Salem's Lot's William Sadler Debunks A Myth About The Upcoming Stephen King Movie And Discusses His Role
Theoretically, Gary Dauberman’s Salem’s Lot will be coming out soon. Earlier this year, it was announced that the upcoming Stephen King movie was no longer getting a theatrical release, but it was said that it would be arriving for people with a Max subscription at some point in 2024. As of this column’s publication, we still don’t have a specific date, but expectations remain.
Because of the mystery surrounding the film’s release there is a lot about the movie that we don’t know – but at the very least, one thing that we can clear up this week is the role that will be played by Stephen King movie veteran actor William Sadler.
Salem’s Lot will be the fourth King movie that Sadler has made (following The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile and The Mist), but when he personally announced his involvement with the production back in September 2021, he didn’t mention the role he would be playing. Earlier this month, I had the great pleasure of interviewing him about his history in King adaptations, and he told me that he will be portraying Sheriff Parkins Gillespie – the skeptical lawman of the film’s titular town:
I don't think I'm giving anything away. I play the Sheriff... I don't play Barlow – that for a while, the internet was full of 'Bill is playing Barlow' or something. And that is one of the most frightening novels that I've ever tried to get through [laugh]. I would get so scared reading that I would have to stop. I play a sheriff who's not particularly helpful with vampires and wants... He really would like to not have anything to do with them. I don't think I'm giving him away any secrets.
In the original miniseries adaptation of Salem’s Lot directed by Tobe Hooper in 1979, Sheriff Parkins was played by Kenneth McMillan, and Steven Vidler played the part in the 2004 small screen remake helmed by Mikael Salomon.
William Sadler continued by explaining that his character isn’t specifically bad at his job; he’s just a realist who doesn’t keep his mind open to the possibility of supernatural forces invading the small Maine hamlet of Jerusalem’s Lot. Said Sadler,
He can handle the occasional drunk or a speeding driver or a traffic violation. All of the normal things in the world. 'Don't talk to me about comic book villains, creatures that are dead, but they're not dead' and so on. It was great. It was great fun to film. It was just great fun. Again, it was like getting into the skin of a character that Stephen King has created and fleshing it out was, again, it's a gift for an actor. It's really fun.
In addition to William Sadler, Salem’s Lot also stars Lewis Pullman, Makenzie Leigh, Bill Camp, John Benjamin Hickey, Alfre Woodard, Spencer Treat Clark, Jordan Preston Carter and Pilou Asbæk. Fingers are tightly crossed that news of its arrival on Max will be coming soon – but while you wait, you can check out Sadler’s latest film, the drama A Stage Of Twilight. Written and directed by Sarah T. Schwab and co-starring Karen Allen, the film is currently available for digital rental and purchase on Prime Video.
Recommendation Of The Week: “The Little Sisters Of Eluria”
With The Dark Tower series on the brain, “The Little Sisters Of Eluria” feels like it makes all the sense in the world as the Recommendation Of The Week. It’s the only short story/novella Stephen King has written that is set in Mid-World, but given that it follows a young Roland Deschain, it’s a tale that welcomes all readers regardless of their familiarity with the novels.
“The Little Sisters Of Eluria” was first published in the 1998 multi-author collection Legends, but most King fans are probably aware of it from the 2002 collection Everything’s Eventual. The story finds Roland in the titular town where he is violently attacked by a horde of slow mutants. When he returns to consciousness after the fight, he finds himself immobilized and in the care of mysterious nuns in a small hospital, and they use a strange kind of bug to heal their patients. The Gunslinger slowly gets better, but as he experiences more of the goings-on at the infirmary, he discovers that there are some sinister operations afoot.
That brings us to the end of this week’s King Beat, but I’ll be back next Thursday with a brand new edition (celebrating this column’s one year anniversary!) here on CinemaBlend. In the meantime, you can learn about the full history of King in Hollywood with my series Adapting Stephen King.
