The big screen version of Stephen King's The Dark Tower in the works is confirmed to feature Idris Elba as The Gunslinger and Matthew McConaughey as the Man in Black. Moreover, Breaking Bad Actor Aaron Paul also shared his thoughts about the rumors linking him to the project.
Stephen King confirmed McConaughey and Elba's casting through Twitter. According to Business Insider, King also confirmed that the opening line of the film will be the first line in the first novel which stated "The man in black fled across the desert and the gunslinger followed."
Filming is expected to begin in April in South Africa. It is yet to be revealed which book in the entire series will be the focus of the film, although director Nikolaj Arcel hinted on its timeline. "A lot of it takes place in our day, in the modern world," Arcel said as reported by Entertainment Weekly.
Other than Elba and McConaughey, no other actors have been announced for the other characters such as Eddie, Susannah, and Jake who joined Roland Deschain in his journey. Mad Max: Fury Road actress Abbey Lee, however, was rumored to appear in the film as the villain Tirana but her involvement is yet to be confirmed.
Moreover, actor Aaron Paul was also speculated to be involved in the project which he recently tweeted about urging King to "put in a good word" for him. According to The Wall Street Journal, Paul did not confirm his casting, but described the rumors as "funny". He sated that he would watch the film regardless of whether he is on it or not.
"I would love to say yes. I'm such a huge fan of those books. I'm a huge fan of Stephen King in general. When those rumors started floating around - and they've come and gone a few times - I always convince myself, 'Maybe there's something I don't know. Maybe I am cast and they're just working out the fine print.'", Paul said.
Official plot details for The Dark Tower movie are currently under wraps, but King previously revealed that the film will start in the middle of the story instead of the beginning. He also confirmed that the idea of releasing a TV series for the franchise is still being considered. The Dark Tower movie is set to be directed by Nikolaj Arcel who also wrote the screenplay with Akiva Goldsman, and Anders Thomas Jensen. It is set to hit theaters in February 17, 2017.
