Ron Howard is in talks to direct a true-life Formula 1 racing drama by screenwriter Peter Morgan (Frost/Nixon, The Queen), casting further doubt on his planned trilogy and TV series adaptation of Stephen King’s gunslinging fantasy novels The Dark Tower.

But fear not King fans — so says Missy Davy at CAA, which reps Howard. She insists The Dark Tower is still on track for a start early next year.

The racing film, titled Rush, would focus on the rivalry between 1970s-era drivers James Hunt and Niki Lauda, who survived a horrific, fiery crash that left him seriously burned but did not slow down (so to speak) his competitiveness.

If the deal with Howard is finalized, it would likely shoot in the fall.

The film is being financed by Cross Creek Pictures, which helped produce Black Swan and George Clooney’s upcoming The Ides of March.

Plans for The Dark Tower series of films began to hit trouble recently over Universal Picture’s concerns about the budget. Both Howard and the studio have stressed that they are trying to reach an accord, but the emergence of new projects such as Rush naturally would make fans fear his attention has begun to shift elsewhere.

With luck, one quest won’t divert the other.

Anthony on Twitter: @Breznican