Back in 2009, J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof were attached to a planned adaptation that was set to begin once Lost ended. However, later that year the duo announced they were backing off the project for undisclosed reasons. In 2010, Ron Howard and Brian Grazer secured film rights and announced their ambitious plan with Universal Pictures for several films and a television show that would bridge the gap between each film. A release date was set for 2013. Later that year Javier Bardem, Christian Bale and Viggo Mortensen were announced as the frontrunners for the lead role of Roland Deschain, with Javier Bardem eventually winning out. Naomie Harris was also rumored for the role of Susannah Dean. But that was never confirmed. In 2011, Universal put the project on hold due to cost concerns. Later in 2011, the project landed at HBO but only the tv portion. Howard and Grazer were still searching for a home for the film component. In 2012, Warner Bros. expressed interest but with Russell Crowe in the lead, not Javier Bardem. But later in 2012, Warner Bros. dropped out just like Universal. However Media Rights Capital quickly stepped in and expressed strong interest in producing a film. Earlier in 2013, Netflix expressed interest in assuming the television portion of Howard and Grazer's plans and confirmed that more serious talks would occur once Arrested Development finished filming.