UPDATE 3/1: Matthew McConaughey and Idris Elba have officially been confirmed for The Dark Tower, and they even had an adorable tweet exchange over it!
It’s official: The man in black fled across the desert and the gunslinger followed. #DarkTowerMovie @McConaughey @IdrisElba
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) March 1, 2016
.@McConaughey you have one new follower. #DarkTowerMovie https://t.co/5fSKF02C7I
— Idris Elba (@idriselba) March 1, 2016
.@idriselba come and get me, I look forward to it. #DarkTowerMovie https://t.co/4gxqm2GPo3
— Matthew McConaughey (@McConaughey) March 1, 2016
According to Entertainment Weekly, shooting begins in seven weeks with a suggested release date of January 2017.
The movie adaptation of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower sometimes seems like it’ll never happen. And maybe it won’t.
But after today, it’s the closest we’ve ever been to an adaptation actually coming to fruition.
The Wrap has apparently confirmed that Idris Elba, Matthew McConaughey, and Mad Max: Fury Road’s Abbey Lee are all going to be in the film. Elba will play Roland Deschain, McConaughey will play Walter Padick, and Lee will play the lead female character, Tirana.
Wait, what?
If you’re confused by that, don’t worry, you’re not the only one. Lee’s role as Tirana has been the subject of much debate today.
Fans will know Tirana as a minor character from the seventh book, certainly not a major character from the series who would be adapted into a film.
Scott Wampler of Birth.Movies.Death asked Jeff Sneider of The Wrap about this and received this reply:
@LimitedPaper I was told “female lead” but deleted the name, just to be safe…
— Jeff Sneider (@TheInSneider) February 18, 2016
To make matters even more confusing when fans began to assume Lee might not be playing Tirana after all, Deadline “clarified”:
“Readers are questioning the name of the character that Lee plays. That’s what I heard they were calling this major character, and for die hard fans, I can tell you a few character qualities: she’s sexy and dangerous, she has fake human skin and cold snake-like eyes.”
Who knows who Lee is actually playing, but frankly this is exactly the type of confusion I expect from this project.
The Dark Tower, if it truly ends up happening (and what a cast if it does!), is set to be directed by Nikolaj Arcel and hit theaters on January 13, 2017.
What do you think of this casting news? Are you looking forward to this film if it happens? Sound off below!
Source: Birth.Movies.Death.
