Mike Flanagan is a hell of a talented storyteller and director. He’s developed projects such as The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, Midnight Mass, and more. He’s also adapted a couple of Stephen King projects including Doctor Sleep and Gerald’s Game, and he wants to keep playing in King’s universe.
In fact, Flanagan’s dream project is developing an adaptation of The Dark Tower. Yeah, there was already a film adaptation a few years ago, but for the most part, it disappointed fans. It also didn’t do too well at the box office. So, I don’t think fans would mind seeing a new adaptation, especially from a filmmaker as talented as Flanagan! If anyone is going to get this story right, it’s him!
During a recent interview with IGN, Flanagan said:
“I keep coming back to it because it has its own gravity. It would just be a question of taking the more fantastical elements that might be harder to connect to, especially where it gets pretty meta at mid-point, and grounding it, just pulling it in. Otherwise, the characters are who they are, the arc is what it is. And I think the way not to do The Dark Tower is to try to turn it into something else, to try to make it Star Wars or make it Lord of the Rings. It’s what it is. What it is is perfect. It’s just as exciting as all of those things and just as immersive and it’s a story about a tiny group of people and all the odds in the whole world are against them, and they come together. As long as it’s that, it’ll be fine, and there won’t be a dry eye in the house.”
Flanagan went on to tease his vision for the adaptation by revealing the opening scene:
“The first (thing), it would be a black screen and the words, ‘The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed’ would come up on silence, and you’d hear the wind, and we’d gradually fade up to this Lawrence of Arabia-esque landscape with a silhouette in the distance just making his way across the hard pan and we would build it out from there, in order, to the end.”
This isn’t the first time he’s talked about wanting to adapt this fantasy epic. He previously said:
“The Dark Tower is forever going to be the story I wish I could tell. That would be the Holy Grail. I mean, talk about an adaptation challenge. So many very talented people have poured so much time and heart and soul and blood, sweat, and tears trying to crack that.”
Hopefully, one day he will actually be able to push this project into production! Again, Flanagan is the right talent for the job and the fans would love to see a proper adaptation! What do you think!