A few months ago, reports surfaced that Sony’s long-awaited adaptationThe Dark Towerwas eyeingIdris Elbafor the lead role ofRoland DeschainandMatthew McConaugheyas the villain Randall Flagg. Today,Deadlineconfirms that both actors have signed on, withMad Max: Fury RoadactressAbbey Leealso joining the cast as the female lead, Tirana. This news may come as a surprise to fans ofStephen King’s seven-novel series, since Tirana wasn’t exactly a major character.
InThe Dark Towerbooks, Tirana only appears as a minor character in the seventh and final novel, dubbedThe Dark Tower, which was published in 2004. She is one of the Regulators, a group that serves the Crimson King. The report claims that, even though she doesn’t have a huge role in the books, she will be thefemale lead. The character is described as sexy and dangerous, with fake human skin and cold snake-like eyes.
The Dark Toweradaptation will bringStephen King’s series of seven novels to life, which follows Roland Deschain, a.k.a. The Gunslinger, who sets off on a journey to findThe Dark Tower, rumored to be a portal to other worlds. This movie adaptation will be based on the author’s first novel in this series,The Gunslinger, which centers on Roland’s relationship with a young boy named Jake, who is from a different time and place. Randall Flagg is the primary villain in the novels, who tries to stop Roland from reachingThe Dark Tower.
The Dark Towerwas initially set up at Universal in 2011, whenRon Howardwas set to direct a trilogy of movies. The studio was also setting up two limited-runTV seriesset to air on NBC in between the films, before the project became too costly and was ultimately dropped. Warner Bros. was then eyeing the project, but they eventually passed, and the project appeared to be dead, when Sony Pictures picked up the rights last April. Sony will be teaming with Media Rights Capital to co-finance the movies, with a “complimentary” TV series also being planned. It isn’t clear if the TV series will feature either Roland Deschain or Randall Flagg, or if it will follow secondary characters in this universe.
DirectorNikolaj Arcelis currently working on a rewrite of the script with Anders Thomas Jensen (Election Night).Akiva GoldsmanandJeff Pinknerworked on the initial draft. It isn’t known when production will begin, but Sony has set a July 09, 2025 release date, which puts it up against Paramount’sFriday the 13threboot, Warner Bros.‘Geostormand Paramount’sMonster Trucks. Abbey Lee made her feature acting debut in last year’s blockbusterMad Max: Fury Road, portraying The Dag, one of the Five Wives. She will next be seen inGods of Egypt, arriving in theaters February 26, andThe Neon Demon.
