After an over decade or so, the first book of Stephen King's "The Dark Tower" series has finally been given the third chance to adapt into a movie, and as the production is hunting for a director, three actors have been speculated to contend to play the main lead of the first movie with the working title "The Gunslinger." Meanwhile, another one of King's books "It" has been pushed back due to the recent departure of the director.
It was this last month when the first book "The Gunslinger" from Stephen King's "The Dark Tower" series has been given a third chance for a movie adaptation. Sony Pictures and Media Rights Capital (MRC) have agreed to co-finance the film for Sony to distribute. The new script is co-written by Akiva Goldsman and Jeff Pinkner. To help the promotion of the adaptation, a TV series will also come along to be produced by MRC.
The first attempt to bring the book onscreen was when Universal Pictures adapted it with three films and a TV show. Though, while still under development, the project fell apart immediately. Next stop was in Warner Bros., which has put the project under consideration. But later on, it didn't work out either. And now that it is on Sony's hands, three actors have already been courted for the lead role Roland Deschin in the recent pre-production of the film by Universal and Warner Bros.
First two are Russel Crowe (Les Misérables) and Javier Bardem (Skyfall). The A-list actors have already been eyed since Universal took claim of the adaptation, and these two are still on the winning list if the director for this adaptation will be selected. Another is Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad), who has admitted in an interview with AICN at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival that he has been approached by one of the producers Ron Howard at the time. "I've had a ton of meetings on that. I just had a general sit down with Ron Howard," the actor said.
However, no confirmation has been disclosed whether the actors are still being eyed by the new production Sony for the gunslinger role, though the list is already a head start to move forward with the filming.
Meanwhile, in another Stephen King related news, the part one of the movie adaptation of King's book "It" has been pushed back due to the withdrawal of its director. According to Entertainment Weekly, director Cary Fukunaga has left the project before the production starts in three weeks. The "True Detective" director has parted ways with New Line Cinema because of the conflicts over budget.
The studio will now be hunting for a new director to helm the film. "It" is based on King's hit 1986 novel about a group of preteens terrorized by a malevolent entity called "It" that prays on children.
So far, with all the dormancy of "The Dark Tower," who do you think will be cast as Roland Deschin? Who are you betting among Aaron Paul, Russel Crowe and Javier Bardem? Share us your choices in the comments section below.
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