Photo : Phillip Faraone ( Getty Images for WIRED )

According to Deadline, grizzled space pirate Michael Rooker has joined the cast of the pilot for Amazon’s The Dark Tower show, which is going to be a prequel to the main events of Stephen King’s book series and a “more faithful retelling” of the story than the awful 2017 movie adaptation. Rooker is reportedly playing “a main villain,” with Deadline theorizing that he’ll probably be rogue gunslinger Eldred Jonas, leader of a gang called the Big Coffin Hunters. Whoever he’s playing, though, Rooker is pretty much perfect for anyone in The Dark Tower’s post-apocalyptic fantasy/sci-fi/Western world, aside from the wizards and supremely evil horror kings that are running around.


Speaking of wizards, J asper Pääkkönen is playing one such magical asshole, specifically Marten Broadclock—a.k.a. The Man In Black, a.k.a. Randall Flagg from The Stand, a.k.a. He Who Walks Behind The Rows from Children Of The Corn (depending on who you believe). He’s the main villain of the story, and a lot of other stories, while Rooker’s Eldred Jonas is more of a season one Big Bad-type. As for the good guys, Sam Strike is playing young Roland Deschain, with the story focusing on his tragic coming-of-age story and how he becomes a fledgling gunslinger, years before embarking on his quest to reach the Dark Tower at the center of all reality. Jerome Flynn from Game Of Thrones will also be there, but all we know is that he’s playing “a cowboy.”

The project is still just a pilot at this point, but if it goes to series, this could finally wipe away the bad taste of the movie.