Adaptation almost always means change. When something starts out in the world of print it's almost impossible to bring it to the silver screen without making certain changes here and there. Sometimes that means altering a plot thread. Other times that means getting rid of something altogether. With the upcoming film adaptation of Stephen King's The Dark Tower on the horizon, it looks like director Nikolaj Arcel will have to dispense with two beloved characters -- at least for the time being.
According to a new report from EW, it seems that the upcoming Dark Tower movie will make one major alteration to the story by omitting a pair of iconic characters. Although many of you were likely excited about the potential of seeing Eddie Dean and his wife Susannah on the silver screen for the very first time, it looks like the upcoming film will not feature this particular pair of fan-favorite characters.
Those of you who have read The Dark Tower series will instantly recognize those names. Eddie Dean is a heroin addict whom initially butts heads with Dark Tower hero Roland Deschain (Idris Elba) before the two men eventually form a strong connection and Eddie becomes a vital member of Deschain's Ka-Tet. His wife, Susannah, is another well-liked character from the source material. An amputee with multiple personalities, she brings a sort of Jekyll and Hyde sense of unpredictability to the proceedings. Although they are phenomenal characters, director Nikolaj Arcel explained that he wants to sell audiences on Roland as a lone hero before surrounding him with too many companions.
As much as we're going to miss characters like Eddie and Susannah, the rationale for leaving them out of the upcoming adaptation makes a great deal of sense. You want to make sure that the audience can understand the mentality of a hero before introducing another great character. The impact of Han Solo's presence in A New Hope likely would have been greatly diminished if someone as dapper and cool as Lando Calrissian showed up prior to the destruction of the first Death Star.
It's also worth noting that the omission of Eddie and Susannah doesn't inherently mean that we will never see them in a Dark Tower film. The couple made their first appearance in the second installment in the long-running Stephen King book series. Based upon that logic, it would feel like a safe bet to assume that they could very well show up in the next Dark Tower movie in a few years.
There's no concrete guarantee that The Dark Tower will receive a sequel, but if it does we can likely expect the arrival of Eddie and Susannah when that day finally comes. The Dark Tower will hit theaters on February 17 of next year.
