The Dark Tower movie, the cinematic adaptation of Stephen King's magnum opus, has taken a long time to come to fruition. The project has been in development hell for years, with fans eager to see such an epic tale finally realized on screen. The project eventually found its home at Sony Pictures, and Nikolaj Arcel was brought on board to direct and write the screenplay. Fans were happy to see the casting of the two main leads; Idris Elba as Roland Deschain, the gunslinger, and Matthew McConaughey as Walter O'Dim, the Man in Black, and indeed, reviews have been favorable about their performances (if not much else). The pair also seem heavily invested in their roles, frequently sharing banter with one another on social media.

But while The Dark Tower should have, and indeed could have been one of the best movies of 2017, it has fallen flat. The problems with the movie are plentiful, and it's impossible to pinpoint one exact reason why it's not as good as it should have been, but the source material, and the lead actors, can't bear the blame. The adaptation is a confusing one; Arcel tried for a retelling of The Dark Tower series but with some bits missing, and some new stuff added. But that only served to confuse those who have read the books, not to mention those who just went to the theater to see the movie with no background whatsoever. The reason for the differences (Roland is trapped in an eternal cycle of his story that differs slightly each time) is not explained well enough, not to mention the fact that many crucial moments and characters are missing completely.

The Dark Tower is only 95 minutes long, which also raised alarm bells for many; King's work spans seven full-length novels, two slightly shorter novels, and a comic book series - it's surely impossible to decently re-tell even one of the novels in 95 minutes. Then there's Sony's seeming reluctance to promote the movie, which led to some assuming it was because the studio didn't have any faith in it. The reality is probably more that the studio was still working on the movie until the last moment, especially since it was hit by delays due to more time being needed for special effects. That's not to say The Dark Tower is a bad film. It's just not great. And after all those years of waiting for it to be made into a movie, fans are left disappointed. Certainly it's an okay watch, and there are some moments that stand out; which can then frustrate the viewer even more, of course, because of what could have been. But as previously stated, the source material is strong, and there isn't any need to change the cast, so where does The Dark Tower go from here?

Plans are already in place for a tie-in TV series, based on the fourth Dark Tower novel, Wizard and Glass. That novel is mainly one long flashback to Roland's past, and it is a great origin story. The show already has Glen Mazzara (The Walking Dead) appointed as showrunner, with Arcel working on the script once more, though it has yet to find a home at any network. Certainly, a TV series based on The Dark Tower books could do well; 13 hour long episodes on, for example, Netflix, could give ample opportunity for King's work to be properly explored and retold. And given that there's so much of it, the show could run and run. While any show featuring a young Roland would mean another actor taking on the role, Wizard and Glass also features the adult Roland, and it's rumored that Elba would be willing to appear, as would Tom Taylor as Jake Chambers, who also features. If that is indeed the case, and further installments of the novels were to be told, then McConaughey could also appear. A TV show certainly could work well, especially on a streaming service where viewers could watch as much or as little as they liked in one sitting. Indeed, the potential is there for the show to become resoundingly popular if it can escape the shadow of the movie - but with more movies planned, that might not be so easy to do.

A trilogy (at least) of Dark Tower movies were always planned, but its something of a surprise to see this still being talked about after the relatively weak box office opening weekend, where The Dark Tower took just shy of $20 million. Given that the movie was made on a budget of just $60 million, that figure isn't as dire as it might have been, but its overseas figures aren't looking too hot right now, either, meaning it still has some way to go to turn a profit. It's perhaps worth noting that it's not yet released in the U.K., but even so, the final total for The Dark Tower box office isn't going to be overly impressive.

That hasn't dissuaded Arcel from discussing a sequel, though. In a recent interview, he hinted that inspiration for the next Dark Tower movie will come from the third novel, 'The Drawing of the Three.' He also hinted that we haven't seen the last of The Man in Black, though really, that's no surprise at all. If Arcel does choose to adapt elements of that novel, it would mean introducing Eddie Dean and Susannah Walker, who, together with Jake, Roland, and Oy, the Billy-Bumbler (a talking dog!), make up the ka-tet who journey to the tower together. Certainly, that would be pleasing to many fans, who were upset to see them not included in the first movie, especially given the sizable roles they have in the books. So maybe a second (and possibly third or more) Dark Tower movie, plus the tie-in TV show, could redeem the franchise.

Roland and the Man in Black in The Dark Tower.

Except.... one of the criticisms of The Dark Tower was that its a confusing mess at times. That could well continue with a second movie and the TV series messing up the timeline of Dark Tower events. Assuming the TV series arrives before a second movie (and lets face it, that's likely), then Eddie, Susannah, and Oy would have to be introduced in the TV show. Not too big an obstacle, maybe, except that they're already all well-established as a telepathic family - a ka-tet - by then. To then go back and introduce them in a second movie makes absolutely no sense, but the arrival of Eddie, and his back story, plus Susannah, who hails from a different point in time, warrant a full and detailed explanation.

Therefore, at the very least, Arcel and Sony have some serious mapping out to do before they even contemplate the true nature of the TV show and any subsequent movies. To have 2 Dark Tower franchises existing on different mediums but not connecting and yet using the same actors would be profoundly ridiculous. A TV series based on Wizard and Glass' is said to be canon, and perhaps Sony's best bet, if the actors are all willing, would be to move the entirety of the franchise to TV, starting with The Drawing of the Three, moving onto Wizard and Glass, and so on. That would also give the chance for the show to be rated R (or TV-MA), as King has said he would like it to be. Word of mouth reviews have been damaging to the cinematic success of The Dark Tower, but there is still hope for the franchise to continue, as long as it's given the respect the source material deserves.

Next: The Dark Tower: The Man in Black's Origins Explained

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