Hollywood has been teasing an adaptation of Stephen King’s Dark Tower series for years, but now the rubber is finally hitting the road. According to Deadline, Sony has just locked down Nikolaj Arcel (best known for A Royal Affair and the Swedish The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo adaptation) to direct the film. He will team up with Anders Thomas Jensen on the latest version of the script, which may or may not build upon a former treatment by Fringe writers Akiva Goldsman and Jeff Pinkner.

The Dark Tower series tells the story of Roland Deschain, the last of the Gunslingers, as he journeys through a mysterious land that crosses elements of the old west with Arthurian fantasy. His goal is to reach the Dark Tower, a magical structure that acts as a portal and anchor to infinite universes. As the story progresses, the separation between universes begins to fall apart, sending Roland into numerous alternate realities.

If all goes according to the current plan, not only will The Dark Tower launch a new movie franchise, but a companion television show, as well. And with the way Stephen King wrote the series and tied it into several of his other popular books, there’s hopes that an entire shared universe à la Marvel may end up developing out of all this.

Step one, though, is making a Dark Tower movie that doesn’t suck. And with Sony picking smart filmmakers like Nikolaj Arcel and Anders Thomas Jensen, they’re off to a good start.

(via Deadline)