While Stephen King is one of the most adapted authors of the past few decades, his multi-part fantasy epic The Dark Tower was for a long time a key book that remained unfilmed. A movie version is finally in production, starring Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey. The first on-set images have been published, revealing Elba in costume. Check it out via the Mail Online.

Luthor star Elba is playing gunslinger Roland Deschain, while McConaughey will feature as Walter Padick, aka the Man in Black, the demonic sorcerer who is the story's central villain. It is directed by Nikolaj Arcel, who previously helmed the Oscar-nominated A Royal Affair.

The Dark Tower has had a long development process, and had passed between several studios before ending up at Sony. In March, King commented on the length of time it had taken for the project to reach this stage. "It's been a looong trip from the books to the film," he told EW. "When you think about it, I started these stories as a senior in college, sitting in a little sh*tty cabin beside the river in Maine, and finally this thing is actually in pre-production now.

"I'm delighted, and I'm a little bit surprised."

The Dark Tower encompasses eight novels, written between 1982 and 2012. The books blend classic western themes with horror, sci-fi, and fantasy, and many of King's other novels connect to the ongoing story.

The film is set to be released on February 23, 2017, and there are plans for this movie to be the first of an ongoing franchise.