Idris Elba is The Gunslinger on The Dark Tower set
Last Thursday, we got our first look at Matthew McConaughey as villain Randall Flagg (see photos in the gallery below) in the anticipated adaptation of The Dark Tower, and now new photos of Idris Elba as Roland Deschain, aka The Gunslinger, on the New York set have also surfaced. You can view a photo from producer Ron Howard above and you’ll find even more photos by clicking here.
Elba and McConaughey are joined in The Dark Tower by Abbey Lee (Mad Max: Fury Road, The Neon Demon) as the film’s female lead, Tirana, and Fran Kranz (The Cabin in the Woods) as Pimli, the right hand man of Flagg. The film also features Jackie Earle Haley (Watchmen, A Nightmare on Elm Street), Katheryn Winnick (Vikings) and Claudia Kiim (Avengers: Age of Ultron).
The Dark Tower series tells the story of Roland Deschain, Mid-World’s last gunslinger, who is traveling southeast across Mid-World’s post-apocalyptic landscape, searching for the powerful but elusive magical edifice known as The Dark Tower. Located in the fey region of End-World, amid a sea of singing red roses, the Dark Tower is the nexus point of the time-space continuum. It is the heart of all worlds, but it is also under threat. Someone, or something, is using the evil technology of the Great Old Ones to destroy it.
Series creator and author Stephen King previously seemed to imply that the forthcoming film wasn’t a direct adaptation of The Dark Tower book series but actually a continuation, focusing on Roland’s final cycle in his pursuit of the titular location. The film’s director, Nikolaj Arcel, and King also previously said that the film would be different from the books, potentially further teasing that the movie is both an adaptation and a sequel to the series.
Arcel, who co-wrote the Swedish version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and directed the Academy Award-nominated A Royal Affair, is at the helm the big screen adaptation, set up through Sony Pictures and MRC. Academy Award winner Akiva Goldsman (A Beautiful Mind) and Jeff Pinkner (The Amazing Spider-Man 2) wrote the screenplay. It is scheduled for release on February 17, 2017.