Warning: this post contains spoilers for The Dark Tower series. It's also extremely nerdy.

In yet another new post about Sony's forthcoming The Dark Tower adaptation, director Nikolaj Arcel has confirmed to Entertainment Weekly that the film (well, films, should enough people show up for the first one) will essentially function as a sequel to Stephen King's epic series.

Here's the quote:

“The hardcore fans of The Dark Tower series will know that this is actually a sequel to the books in a way,” Arcel says. “It has a lot of the same elements, a lot of the same characters, but it is a different journey.”

If you're a Dark Tower fan (and if you've been following our coverage here at Birth.Movies.Death.), you can probably guess how this is possible: the Horn Of Eld. Yes, the artifact that Roland neglected to take with him on his past journeys to the titular Tower - the one he receives at the very end of King's final Dark Tower novel - will be in Roland's possession from the very beginning of Arcel's film. And it changes everything.

Quite basically, it reboots the narrative, and means that the Dark Tower film(s) will continue King's story while also revisiting familiar elements. With that Horn in play, there's no way of knowing which characters, locations, or fates Roland and company may or may not encounter on their trip through Mid-World. Things could turn out completely different...or they could be exactly the same.

Initially, we believed this was a way for the filmmakers to dodge a direct adaptation of the books. Turns out, they were playing a slightly different game. I'm not sure anything like this has ever happened before (I'm sure someone will let me know in the comments if it has), but it's perfectly in keeping with the meta narrative of the books.

I kind of love this, but how about you guys? Are you ready to embrace The Dark Tower as a sequel series? Sound off in the comments below.