Javier Bardem Still Attached To ‘The Dark Tower’ As Ron Howard Seeks New Funding
The boys at Imagine Entertainment aren’t going to let Universal’s brush-off get them down. Not long ago, Universalopted not to fundan adaptation ofStephen King’s novel seriesThe Dark Tower, which was planned to encompass three feature films and at least two short connective television series.Ron Howard,Brian GrazerandAkiva Goldsmanmake up the trio that have been trying to assemble the project, and, as intimated by King when Universal turned away, they’re not giving up.
Javier Bardemremains attached to play Roland Deschain in the features. And one venue for the TV aspect of the project could end up being Netflix.
Brian Grazer toldPage Six,
[We’re] trying to get outside financing to make it, and distribute it through a major [studio].
Could that mean a company like Media Rights Capital, or Annapurna Pictures, the outfit headed by Megan Ellison? (Her brother, David Ellison, could also potentially be a backer, which could lead to a distribution deal with Paramount.) That’s probably along the lines of what Grazer is talking about, though any specifics are just speculation on my part right now.
More interesting is that Page Six paraphrases the producer saying that “they also planned to go ahead with the TV spin-offs of the horror Western fantasies, but through other networks or even Netflix.” It’s that last note, about Netflix, that really strikes me as interesting. The company has been looking into producing its own television-type content, and partnering with Imagine for The Dark Tower would be quite a big move into that space. I’d like to see more direct quotes from Grazer on that topic, though, before getting too excited.
I’m still not convinced that this is the right creative team forThe Dark Tower— not at all, really — but I am still fascinated by the scope of their plan for the story. Not being particularly invested inThe Dark Tower, I’d almost like to see this get made, just to see if they can pull it off. But with Ron Howarddirectingthe Formula One filmRushsoon, this won’t be happening until next summer at the earliest.
