Mike Flanagan Provides Update on Stephen King Adaptation

Several years ago Mike Flanagan announced plans to adapt Stephen King’s The Dark Tower as a small-screen series. However, we haven’t learned much about the project in the years since, perhaps in part due to Flanagan’s massive workload of late. The Doctor Sleep director is working on a series adaptation of King’s Carrie and an untitled Exorcist picture with Blumhouse. Not to mention, Flanagan’s latest, The Life of Chuck, is gearing up to hit theaters later this week! With all of that going on, it’s a wonder that Flanagan still has time to talk to the press. Fortunately, he’s good at multitasking and managed to sit down with ComicBook, giving the team there an update on The Dark Tower.

“It’s not that I’ve put it down. It’s just that the thing is so big, it’s like building an oil tanker,” Flanagan explained to the outlet. “We’ve been moving it forward this whole time. It’s just, that’s how big it is. It’s constantly in the works, and you better believe as often as you guys may want to ask about it, Stephen King is asking me about it more, and I’m not gonna let him down.”

Sounds like the project is still a priority for the director, yet with all of the moving parts, it may be a while before we see measurable progress. After all, the source material includes eight novels, one novella, and a children’s book. That’s a lot of content to pore over when mapping out a series.

Despite the daunting time investment, we still have faith in Flanagan. He’s nailed more than one King adaptation to date, and we remain hopeful that he can do The Dark Tower justice. The previous attempt to realize the property as a feature film didn’t work as well as fans were hoping. However, a series will allow more time and space for world-building and establishing lore.

The plot crunch for the series’ much-maligned feature film counterpart goes like this:

Roland Deschain, the last Gunslinger, is locked in an eternal battle with Walter O’Dim, also known as the Man in Black. The Gunslinger must prevent the Man in Black from toppling the Dark Tower, the key that holds the universe together. With the fate of worlds at stake, two men collide in the ultimate battle between good and evil.

So, don’t worry! Mike Flanagan hasn’t forgotten about The Dark Tower. He’s just a busy guy with a lot of irons in the proverbial fire. Stay tuned to the site for more updates on the project as we learn them. In the meantime, if you’d like to keep up with me on social media, you can find me on Threads @FunWithHorror.

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