“The Haunting” creator Mike Flanagan is developing a series from Stephen King’s “The Dark Tower”

The Dark Tower: Flanagan’s Epic Vision Comes to Life

In the highly anticipated film adaptation of Stephen King’s magnum opus The Dark Tower, acclaimed director Mike Flanagan is set to bring the expansive fantasy world to the big screen. Set to release in 2025, this long-awaited project promises to captivate audiences with its vast scope and compelling characters.

Flanagan, known for his masterful handling of genre-blending stories, seems perfectly suited to tackle the complex, multi-layered narrative of The Dark Tower. The series, which spans eight novels, follows the journey of Roland Deschain, the last Gunslinger, as he travels across a vast and desolate landscape in pursuit of the mythical Dark Tower – a structure that holds the key to saving his world.

With Flanagan’s talent for blending horror, drama, and existential themes, fans can expect a Dark Tower adaptation that remains faithful to King’s vision while infusing it with a fresh, cinematic urgency. The casting of the lead role of Roland is sure to be a closely watched announcement, as the Gunslinger’s stoic determination and singular purpose are central to the story’s success.

Given Flanagan’s track record of critical and commercial hits, including Netflix’s The Haunting of Hill House and Doctor Sleep, anticipation is high that The Dark Tower will become the definitive screen version of King’s epic saga. As the release date approaches, fantasy and Stephen King enthusiasts alike will be eagerly awaiting this cinematic event.

The Dark Tower: Mike Flanagan Offers Promising Update on Stephen King Series

Filmmaker Mike Flanagan revealed last December that he obtained the rights to Stephen King’s The Dark Tower, arguably the most beloved of all King series, and while the writers’ strike is preventing any substantial momentum developing on the project, the filmmaker confirmed he’s hopeful about the project’s future following the strike. After a long partnership with Netflix, Flanagan ended up leaving the streamer last year in favor of Prime Video, so even if the writers’ strike wasn’t going on, Flanagan would have likely faced some development hurdles, but it sounds as though it’s a priority for him.

“We’re on strike but I’m very optimistic,” Flanagan shared during a Tribeca Festival masterclass, per Variety. “We have great partners and I think it’s going to happen.”

While it’s exciting to hear Flanagan’s enthusiasm for the upcoming project, the uncertainty surrounding the writers’ strikes means it could be months before any progress is made on the project, potentially not heading into production until next year for a possible 2024 or even a 2025 release date. Similarly, with previous filmmakers struggling to find the best way to bring a Dark Tower TV show to life, there are sure to be a number of challenges for Flanagan to overcome.

Despite all those challenges, Flanagan might be the most prepared to take on such a task. The filmmaker previously delivered an adaptation of King’s Gerald’s Game back in 2017, which was widely believed to be too difficult to adapt from the source material. He returned to King’s world for 2019’s Doctor Sleep, which served not only as an adaptation of the novel of the same name, but also as a follow-up to Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining.

Like many fans, Flanagan understands that The Dark Tower can be the key to the entire world of King.

“The thing about the King universe is, it’s all connected. And the nexus point of those connections is The Dark Tower,” Flanagan revealed to the Script Apart podcast. “So I have the rights to that at the moment, I hope I’m able to keep them long enough to get it made, but that’s something else that always affords opportunities. In the Dark Tower universe, there are all these other characters from the King world that come into play in different ways. And that’s one where when you make changes to the source material to introduce characters who could have played a very important role in that story the way it was structured…Doctor Sleep was written after The Dark Tower was finished. Abra Stone in the Dark Tower universe, as a Breaker [telepathic agent], is really interesting.”

He continued, “There’s a character in The Dark Tower named Dandelo, who I think is a cousin of the True Knot, who’s this emotional vampire but who feeds on laughter instead of fear. But there’s room in that world for the True Knot themselves, there’s room for Rose the Hat. There might be room for Danny Torrance. There’s all sorts of stuff that could be amazing, if we’re able to get that property on its feet. There’s ways to pull in other things from the King universe, and I think The Shining universe – the Doctor Sleep universe – could very seamlessly dovetail into it. Especially since, in our movie, Dick Hallorann all but points to The Dark Tower in his last scene with Dan.”