Sony Pictures has finally released the first trailer for The Dark Tower, the highly anticipated cinematic adaptation of Stephen King’s epic work. Starring Idris Elba as Roland Deschain a.k.a. the Gunslinger and Matthew McConaughey as The Man in Black, The Dark Tower movie pulls influence from across all of King’s novels, while at the same time serving as a sequel of sorts. Theoretically, given that King’s world comprises multiple parallel universes, this version of The Dark Tower could take place in another universe - essentially being the same story retold but with differences.
As expected, this first trailer was a full-length one rather than a teaser, and it gave us a good look at the overall tone of the movie, as well as introducing the three main characters. The trailer was also packed full of scenes from the books, as well as some nods to more of King’s works. Read on for the full trailer breakdown.
An Abandoned Mid-World
One of the very first shots of the trailer is of Mid-World in decay. This is the world in which Roland (Elba) was born, raised, and trained to be a gunslinger. Mid-World has since fallen into ruin, and Roland is now the last of his kind. The opening shot gives a good look at what seems to be a far more futuristic place than King imagines in his novels. In fact, Mid-World looks more like the city of Lud, where Blaine the Monotrain resides in later novels.
In addition to this first, opening shot, there are other, stunning glimpses of time and nature taking its toll across Roland’s land. The world has moved on, but he has not, and will not until his quest is fulfilled. Roland must stop the fall of the Dark Tower, and to do that, he must defeat the Man in Black.
Roland Deschain
Elba looks right at home as a gunslinger saddled with the most monumental of tasks. As we are told at the start of the trailer, the Gunslingers were like Knights; sworn to protect their world. However, one by one the others have all died out, and only Roland remains.
Roland can fire and reload his guns at lightning speed, and he shoots with deadly accuracy. Gunslinging is an art - one to be taken incredibly seriously. As a result, Roland lacks humor or fun in his life, though he had a love, named Susan, when he was young. She may be referenced in The Dark Tower, or her story may be saved for the tie-in TV series that is in the works, based on the prequel novel Wizard and Glass.
Roland does not want to take on the responsibility of looking after Jake Chambers, but he has no choice. Together, (and with others in the books), they form a Ka-tet; a telepathic family destined to be together. In the books there are some sweet moments of humor between the pair, and hopefully that will make its way into the movie, too.
The Man in Black
The Man in Black appears in countless King novels, and goes by various names - including Randall Flagg, Walter O’Dim, and The Walkin’ Dude. He is the embodiment of pure evil, an accomplished sorcerer, and said to be of indeterminate age. Perhaps the most chilling aspect of The Man in Black is that he appears to be a regular (and very charming) person.
In The Dark Tower, The Man in Black wants to stop Roland from reaching the Tower, in order that he might claim it for his own and become a God. Therefore, he is both chasing Roland and being pursued by him. All footage of The Man in Black from the trailer points to him being similar to his literary incarnation: cool, calm, collected, and inherently evil (Roland describes him as being worse than the Devil). McConaughey both looks and sounds the part, and will be a menacing nemesis for Roland to deal with.
Jake Chambers
In a departure from the books, it seems that Jake does not die in our world first before making it to Mid-World. Instead, he goes to see a therapist about the visions he keeps having. In the novels, that doesn’t happen until much later, when there is a time jump back to an alternate universe where Jake is still alive.
One thing that is the same, though, is that Jake can draw everything he envisions, and he knows exactly who Roland and the Man in Black are before he meets them. The trailer gives a good look at these, including pictures of the doorways into the other worlds (more on those in a moment). Roland might not want Jake along for the mission, but he needs him; Jake knows what will happen to the other worlds if The Man in Black manages to get to the Tower first, and it is he who keeps Roland on his quest. He also takes Roland into New York, which will be interesting to see. Newcomer Tom Taylor plays Jake, and he certainly seems to be one to watch.
Jake is scared, away from his family, and his own world. He is also strong, determined, and on a path created by destiny, from which he cannot waver. The line “there are other worlds than these,” is said by Jake right before a pivotal moment in the first book, that may or may not be recreated in the movie.
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Easter Eggs
Yes, this is a trailer for The Dark Tower, but there’s also a nod to two more of King’s most popular works: The Shining and It. Firstly, when Jake is in his therapist’s office, there is a beamquake - when a beam that holds the Tower in place comes under attack. They can be felt in our world. As the books on the shelf begin to rattle, there is a very clear shot of a framed photo of The Overlook Hotel from The Shining. This is the hotel used in Stanley Kubrick’s movie, rather than the hotel that King used as his inspiration
Secondly, as we hear Jake telling Roland that his world still exists, we see him standing in the forest in front of an abandoned circus, which stars Pennywise, the eerie clown from It. Given that this year sees a resurgence in King adaptations, could we end up seeing a shared King cinematic universe? The mind boggles with the thought that all that could entail, but theoretically, that could give way for McConaughey to reprise his role in any future King adaptations, such as The Stand.
The Tower Begins to Fall
Or does it? The titular Tower is seen a lot throughout the course of the trailer - from Jake’s drawings, to a very clear shot of all the spokes holding it in place. It is these beams that keep getting attacked and destroyed as the Tower starts to fall. Remember, this is what the Man in Black wants to happen, so understandably he and his powers are behind all of this. However, Roland and Jake are determined to stop him.
The real question is whether the shots we see of the Tower starting to fall are real, or just more of Jake’s vivid dreams. We’re inclined to think the latter, since given that there are meant to be other movies plus the TV series, it’d be pretty pointless if there was no Dark Tower to speak of. Still, all the references to the Dark Tower do serve as a good base for newcomers to the franchise, whose heads must be spinning with everything this movie is going to entail.
The Portals
In King’s Dark Tower novels, regular doorways can act as a portal into the other worlds. These are reflected in Jake’s drawings; doorways just like we’re used to seeing, where the other side appears somewhere in Roland’s world. In a later novel, Jake tracks down one of these portals thanks to a sketch of an old house that he’s been compelled to draw.
This is recreated almost exactly in the trailer, except what Jake finds is not a regular old doorway, but some kind of futuristic looking portal filled with strange lights. In fact, they seem to be similar to the doorways used in later novels, which are purpose-built rather than organically created. There are hints that the house does come alive and try to attack Jake for trying to leave his world, which also follows the novels.
Monsters and Thinnys
A thinny is a spot where the atmosphere between the worlds is thin. While it might sound like an easy access point, they are actually incredibly dangerous. In one novel, Roland directs a whole band of men towards one when they are out to kill him. They are drawn to the thinny, swallowed up by it, and killed. A thinny is alive; a supernatural force that seems to breathe, and it also males a high-pitched noise almost continuously. A brief shot in the trailer seems to point toward Jake finding one; hopefully Roland can stop him before he tries to see what’s on the other side.
There’s also a couple of shots of what looks to be some kind of creature with a lot of teeth. We’re at a loss to think of where something like that appears in the novels, so maybe it’s something new for the movie, or maybe it’s a slightly different take on some of the more supernatural/ horror based characters we read about, such as Taheen, which are soldiers with the faces of evil-looking animals.
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Are These The Lowmen?
The trailer shows a clear shot of these soldier-like characters who are clearly up to no good. It’s possible they’re Lowmen. In the book, Lowmen have the faces of rats but, as already discussed above, director Nikolaj Arcel needs some artistic license here, so it’s possible their appearance has been altered.
Whoever they are, and whatever their reason for being, they look creepy and very much like something The Man in Black would have need for. They are also shown to be hunting Jake, since The Dark Man is determined to get to him. There might be a lot of them, and they might be brutal, but we still don’t fancy their chances against Roland when he’s (literally) firing on all cylinders.
The Crimson King
It’s only brief, but there’s a nod to The Crimson King during the trailer that sets The Dark Tower up nicely for more to come. The Crimson King is Lord of All, above the Man in Black, even. He has an all-seeing, all-knowing crimson red eye. During the trailer (and in prior promotional material) we see this eye symbol painted with the slogan “All Hail the Crimson King,” beneath it.
During the trailer, The Man in Black knocks the wall in deference to the slogan as he walks past. Not much, but a subtle nod that works well and gives a sly nod to those who have read the books. Going forward, The Crimson King will be mentioned a lot if there’s subsequent movies, and if the tie-in TV series does choose to focus on Wizard and Glass, then we’ll learn more about the Crimson King’s heritage.
Dennis Haysbert as Stephen Deschain
Roland’s father, Stephen, is a complex character in the books. Undoubtedly loved and admired by his son, Stephen loves his boy in return, but also pushes him to become a man far sooner than he should have. His wife, Roland’s mother, is having an affair with a man named Marten, which causes Roland great upset. Stephen is a gunslinger, and goes off to fight, and when he returns, Roland is grown up. All of this is explored in ‘Wizard and Glass,’ but also mentioned across all the novels.
One of the key lines Roland frequently speaks is “He who aims with his hand has forgotten the face of his father. I aim with my eye,” something every gunslinger is supposed to hold in their mind as they shoot. It’s reasonable to expect that Haysbert’s appearance in flashback will show Stephen teaching his son this mantra, but it will be interesting to see if he has any more scenes in the movie, and whether we will see more flashbacks of a young Roland learning the art of gunslinging.
The Gunslinger
Finally, this whole trailer serves as an homage to Roland Deschain and his gunslinging skills. Elba looks to have the art of quick draw down, as he pulls guns again and again. There’s some cool shots of him reloading at speed, firing with deadly accuracy, and one of him patiently using the sounds in the air to pinpoint the exact location of whomever it is that’s trying to make off with Jake. One shot, and they’re dead.
In Mid-World, lead is a prized commodity; bullets are scarce, precious objects not to be wasted. Imagine all the fun Roland’s going to have in New York. He’s also going to teach Jake the ways of his craft; further cementing the unlikely father/son bond between the pair.
“I do not kill with my hand, I kill with my heart,” Roland says as he takes aim. Jake will no doubt find it tough to learn all of Roland’s ways, but he’s going to need to in order that he might survive, and the pair can reach the Dark Tower together. Then again, there’s also the possibility of Jake not surviving, and Roland having to continue his quest alone. After all, there are other worlds than these.
