J.J. Abrams must have several duplicates of himself, because he seems to be everywhere these days. Not only has he signed on to direct the next Star Trek movie, but he has two shows on television, and is now poised to take on another mammoth project.

Stephen King, the renowned best-selling horror author, confirmed at the New York Comic Con fans that “Lost” co-creators J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof will adapt “The Dark Tower,” his epic seven-book series, for the screen.

“I said ‘No’ to everybody until recently, because I didn’t think much of the chances of it being a good movie,” King said in a panel discussion launching Marvel Comics’ new “Dark Tower” comic books at the New York City Comic Con on Feb. 24. “I mean, this is my life’s work, since the time I was 22 years old. It’s very important to me. Usually, with the other [books], I don’t give much of a shit. My attitude is, ‘Go make a movie, and if it’s good, that’s terrific, and if it’s bad, then it will go to the video stores and back shelves of Blockbuster, and I still get royalties on the book.'”

Others, including longtime collaborator, writer/director Frank Darabont (“The Shawshank Redemption,” “The Green Mile”) have tried to acquire the film rights to “The Dark Tower,” but King, an avowed fan of ABC’s “Lost,” chose the men behind that series, Abrams and Lindelof. Darabont is currently working on other King adaptations.

“Frank did come to me, and I know Frank from before either one of us had a pot to piss in,” King said. “Frank said, ‘Gee, I’d like to do Dark Tower.’ I said, ‘Frank, give me a break! You’ve got ‘The Mist,’ ‘The Monkey.’ You’ve got the prison stories. … Stop putting so much on your plate!'”

King agreed to sign over the film rights to The Dark Tower when Abrams and Lindelof approached him.

“Damon is just a total comic book freak, and he loves the ‘Dark Tower’ books,” King said. “I trust those guys, and they have a lot on the ball. When they said they wanted to talk about doing this, I said, ‘You know what? Why don’t you buy the option on this and see what you can come up with.’ They asked, ‘How much do you want for an option?’ I said, ‘$19.’ [It’s a key amount that comes up frequently in the books]. And that’s what they paid me, and that’s where it is.”

With the confirmation that Abrams will be directing the next Star Trek movie, it is unclear whether he will take on the “Dark Tower” project solely as a producer or whether he would direct as well.

Marvel and King’s Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born No. 1″ is available in stores now.