The Dark Tower movie won't be a straight adaptation of Stephen King's beloved series of books, as director Nikolaj Arcel has confirmed the film will be missing two key characters and serve as more a sequel than a retelling of King's original work.

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Arcel and King recently spoke to EW about the upcoming film, revealing that Eddie and Susannah won't be in the film. The director noted the pair don't join the series until the second book, and he wants to convey the solitary nature of the Gunslinger's journey before adding these characters into the mix.That doesn't rule out the possibility of them appearing in a future film, though, as Arcel noted that "they're certainly out there" and play "such a huge part of the story." He believes the entire tale deserves to be shared and "would certainly be disappointed" if they weren't brought in at some point down the line. King noted that he's "fine" with the decision, having consulted on leaving Eddie and Susannah out.Eddie and Susannah are two of the members of Roland's "ka-tet," a group brought together by the destiny-like force of "ka" that joins Roland in his quest to save the titular Dark Tower.Another significant change that's being made for the film is tied to the Horn of Eld, which Roland Deschain acquires by the end of King's series of novels. In The Dark Tower movie, however, Roland (played by Idris Elba) will already have the horn, making the film more like a sequel than a retelling of the original story."The hardcore fans of The Dark Tower series will know that this is actually a sequel to the books in a way," Arcel said, noting that while the film will have "a lot of the same elements" and "a lot of the same characters," it will tell "a different journey."The Dark Tower opens in theaters on February 17, 2017 and began filming back in April . For more on Arcel's upcoming film, check out this teaser image for The Dark Tower

Alex Osborn is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter and subscribe to him on YouTube