Stephen King’s THE DARK TOWER to Become TV Series & Film Trilogy With Ron Howard Directing

Universal Pictures and NBC Universal Television Entertainment have acquired the rights to Stephen King’s seven epic novels, short stories, and comic books called The Dark Tower. The two media conglomerates plan to produce a film trilogy and a television series baaed on the stories with Ron Howard attached to direct the first film.

This unprecedented plan to bring a story to both movie theaters and television screens has not been done simultaneously in the past and should open the doors for these concept projects in the future. Ron Howard will direct the first film as well as the first season of the television series. Akiva Goldsman will write the script. Goldsman, Howard, and Brian Grazer will produce the project under their company Imagine Entertainment which has brought many big name projects like The Da Vinci Code and A Beautiful Mind to the big screen over the last few years.

Stephen King had this to say about the ambitious project:

“I’ve been waiting for the right team to bring the characters and stories in these books to film and TV viewers around the world. Ron, Akiva, Brian along with Universal and NBC have a deep interest and passion for the ‘The Dark Tower’ series and I know that will translate into an intriguing series of films and TV shows that respect the origins and the characters in ‘The Dark Tower’ that fans have come to love.”

“We are excited to have found partners at Universal who understand and embrace our approach to King’s remarkable epic.  By using both the scope and scale of theatrical filmmaking and the intimacy of television we hope to more comprehensively do justice to the characters, themes and amazing sequences King has given us in ‘The Dark Tower’ novels. It might be the challenge of a lifetime but clearly a thrilling one to take on and explore.”

“The worlds of Stephen King’s ‘The Dark Tower’ series are richly detailed, inter-locking and deeply connected. By telling this story across media platforms and over multiple hours—and with a view to telling it completely—we have our best chance of translating Roland’s quest to reach ‘The Dark Tower’ onto screen. We are proceeding with tremendous excitement, fidelity to the source material and, quite frankly, no small amount of awe at this opportunity.”

Connecting a film trilogy to a television series is beyond ambitious. It is a gamble that people will want to watch both a film and a television show – and will enjoy both. I am impressed by the concept of the project and I know without doubt that the combination of Stephen King, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, and Akiva Goldsman should deliver on big levels.

What do you think of this project? Having not read King’s series of books, I am not familiar with the subject matter, but am very intrigued by the project. Can Universal put together a series of movies and television episodes that will engage enough fans to make this all work out for a long running movie/television franchise?

Post your comments below.