Director Mike Flanagan recently spoke about his potential series adaptation of Stephen King’sThe Dark Tower, including his belief that the 2017 film version may have poisoned his chances for a series.
Flanagan has made a name at Netflix making well-receivedhorrorseries likeThe Haunting of Hill House,Midnight Mass, andThe Midnight Club. He recently began working under Amazon Studios on new projects for television, hoping to create a longer-form adaptation of King’s multi-volume work,The Dark Tower, which started with the first volume,The Gunslinger, in 1982. The 2017 film version, which served more as an additional sequel than a true adaptation, starred big names Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey and seemed poised for success among King’s fans. The film’s failure, however, may have cooled Hollywood’s fervor for King-based stories.
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Flanagan recently told theScript Apartpodcast he believed the film’s failure may have torpedoed his chances of getting to make aDark Towerstreaming series. “[My Dark Tower adaptation] couldn’t be more different [from the movie],” he explained. “That was the wrong approach to the material, kind’ve across the board, and it was such the wrong approach that I think it kind’ve salted the earth for anyone else who wanted to plant something under the Dark Tower banner for who knows how long.” Flanagan acquired therights to adapt King’sThe Dark Towerlast year, but momentum on getting the series into production at Amazon has slowed. “…they were able to overcome it for an Amazon [Studios] series that took another, different approach again - that is very different than the one I am proposing - and that didn’t get off the ground,” Flanagan added. “So that has also directly impacted…and I’m at Amazon!”
Flanagan referred to a lesser-known previous Amazon adaptation that created a single pilot episode in 2020 but was canceled before getting off the ground. Though its life was short, developingThe Dark Towerseries and shooting a single episode had cost Amazon significant time and money. “That’s my studio now for television, and I can understand going to them and saying ‘Hey, would you like to walk exactly down the same title that you spent all this money on, that you still feel bruised from.’ I understand the issues,” he said.
Flanagan is reportedly all ready to go with his vision for King’s work, with the first episode’s pilot script finished and plans for five seasons in mind. As the director of 2019’sDoctor Sleep, King’s follow-up toThe Shining,and 2017’sGerald’s Game, Flanagan is no stranger to adapting King.
Flanagan, who has successfully conquered the streaming horror series genre in recent years, has had less success with his film work, includingDoctor Sleep, which faltered at the box office and may have cost Flanagan apotential HBOShiningprequel seriesfocused on the famous Overlook Hotel. Despite smaller audiences, his literary adaptations, including Shirley Jackson’sThe Haunting of Hill House, Christopher Pike’sThe Midnight Cub, and a forthcoming Netflix miniseries based on Edgar Allen Poe’sFall of the House of Ushercontinue to win interest and acclaim in the streaming world. As forThe Dark Tower? Time will tell.
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