'The Dark Tower': Stephen King Reveals Why The Film Isn't A Straight Adaptation Of The Book

Production is underway for the film adaptation of Stephen King’s “The Dark Tower” series with co-stars Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey at the helm. Though the film won’t see the light of day until 2017, King has recently revealed in a podcast with EW that the film will not be a straight adaptation of the book. He says that the film “starts sort of in media res, in the middle of the story instead of beginning, which may upset some of the fans a little bit,” but he’s also confident that they “will get behind it, because it is the story.”

READ MORE: ‘The Dark Tower’ Starts Filming In Cape Town; Stephen King Saga Stars Matthew McConaughey & Idris Elba

“The Dark Tower” series has been in development hell since 2007. Previously, J.J. Abrams and Ron Howard were attached to the project. The adaptation will be directed by Danish filmmaker Nikolaj Arcel, who previously directed “A Royal Affair,” which was nominated for a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, and co-wrote the Swedish film version of “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.” Arcel’s film will be the first of many films based on King’s eight-novel series about Roland Deschain, a gunslinger living in Mid-World who’s on a quest to save his decaying world by reaching a tower that’s at the nexus of all universes.

Idris Elba currently co-stars in the animated films “Zootopia” and “The Jungle Book,” both currently in theaters, and will appear in Disney’s “Finding Dory” and Justin Lin’s “Star Trek Beyond” later in the year. Matthew McConaughey will appear in “Free State of Jones” and the animated film “Kubo and the Two Strings” this summer.

READ MORE: ‘11.22.63’ Sequel Series: Stephen King Reveals Potential Plans For Another Jake Epping Adventure

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