After years of anticipation, rumors, and theories, the first trailer for the upcoming Stephen King epic, The Dark Tower, has now arrived and is already causing quite a stir. For longtime fans of the books, the trailer offers numerous hints, clues, Easter eggs, and references to several books in the series. But for those who are new to the Dark Tower mythos, and are starting this journey with fresh eyes, this trailer offers a first look at the sprawling multiverse that is widely regarded as King's magnum opus.
As any trailer should do, this one leaves the viewer with many questions. Foremost among them: exactly what is this so-called "Dark Tower?" Sure, it's obviously some sort of tall, black, skyscraper-like monolith, and apparently keeping it from toppling it down is really, really important, but why?
Well, we've got answers. The mystery of the Dark Tower's meaning, origin, and intricacies are a huge story element throughout the book series, and some of its finer features are as much metaphorical as they are literal. But for now, we can delve into the basics, and explain why the Dark Tower itself is so important within the storyline.
The Dark Tower is the Nexus of All Realities
As those who have seen the trailer have probably gathered by now, the The Dark Tower series deals with alternate dimensions, realities, and worlds. But it isn't as simple as the notion that there is "our world" and "Roland's world." No, within this series there is an entire multiverse, with millions upon millions of different realities. In fact, every Stephen King novel ever written exists somewhere within this kaleidoscope of universes.
The Dark Tower is the anchor point of all these realities. It's the center of every world, every timeline, everything.
The Tower stands tall in a field of roses called Can'-Ka No Rey, and only has one door. Every floor is a different reality. Somewhere at the very top floor, it is believed that God — or "Gan," as it is called in Roland's world — resides. It's not easy to find the Tower, since it the nexus of all worlds. It's so difficult to find that Roland's been pursuing it for almost his entire life. If the Tower were to fall, it would mean the end of all reality, all existence, all life. One would think that this would be a clear reason to keep it standing. Unfortunately, not everyone sees it that way.
The Tower is Supported By Beams, and Each Beam Has a Guardian
One thing the trailer did show was a brief glimpse at how the Dark Tower seems to emit these paths of light, which stretch out far into the clouds. These creatively referred to as the "beams," and they are the force that keeps the Tower standing. The beams stretch out across the multiverse, and each beam is protected by a guardian animal. For example, in the third book, The Waste Lands, Roland and his friends encounter a building-sized cyborg bear named Shardik, who is one of these guardians.
It said often said that "all things serve the beam." When one is walking on the path of a beam, one will notice that trees grow in its direction, clouds move towards it, birds turn to fly along it.
Here's the scary thing: the beams hold the tower up, and there are dark forces at work who want to send the tower crashing down. To do this, they are slowly tearing down the beams. When a beam is destroyed, the effects are apocalyptic to whatever worlds that beam falls upon; this was a major factor in why Roland's world became so desolate.
To break the beams, these dark forces of the universe employ (or enslave) people with psychic abilities, whom they call "Breakers." When working in unison, these Breakers not only can destroy a beam, but have already done so, successfully. And when the last one falls, there goes the Dark Tower... and eventually reality itself.
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Roland Wants to Save the Tower
Now we have a clear picture of why Roland thinks it's so important to keep the Dark Tower from falling down. Makes sense, right?
Roland Deschain of Gilead, played in the film by Idris Elba, is the last gunslinger. Roland's world is a post-apocalyptic land that fuses Western settings with those of medieval-style fantasy. Before the world "moved on," the gunslingers were an honorable order of knights, born of noble blood, and trained from early childhood. Now, all of them have died, but Roland remains. The gunslingers, and thus Roland, were raised by this mantra, which he speaks at the end of the trailer:
I do not aim with my hand. He who aims with his hand has forgotten the face of his father. I aim with my eye.
I do not shoot with my hand. He who shoots with his hand has forgotten the face of his father. I shoot with my mind.
I do not kill with my gun. He who kills with his gun has forgotten the face of his father. I kill with my heart.
Why is the Man in Black Trying to Destroy the Dark Tower?
The character that Matthew McConaughey plays in The Dark Tower is Stephen King's single most popular villain, a demonic sorcerer and otherworldly being known as "the Man in Black." Just as the beams cross into every world, the Man in Black has appeared in countless different Stephen King books, wreaking havoc across numerous time lines, always with a different name. In The Stand, he called himself Randall Flagg, or "the walking dude." In Hearts in Atlantis, he is Raymond Fiegler. He's also been Walter O'Dim, Marten Broadcloak, the Covenant Man, and more.
But why does he want to destroy the Dark Tower? What could he possibly gain from such a thing?
Well, the Man in Black is actually the emissary of an even more powerful being who calls himself "The Crimson King," who in the trailer is hinted at in the red graffiti sprayed onto the wall. In the Dark Tower mythos, the Crimson King is the embodiment of all evil and chaos. The Crimson King believes that if the Tower is destroyed, the resulting chaos will allow him to remake the entire multiverse in his image.
Roland is Destined to Reach the Tower
Since the gunslingers all died and the world moved on, Roland has spent years — centuries, actually — pursuing the Dark Tower. This goal has consumed his life, his personality, his energy, and everything he ever loved. Though saving the Tower will certainly prevent the Crimson King from destroying reality, there's something more to Roland's quest as well: something that one might call obsession. In the books, one character repeatedly refers to Roland as a "Tower junkie," claiming that Roland's single-minded fixation on the Dark Tower is much like heroin addiction. And this obsession, though it may originate from a noble cause, has caused tragic consequences to befall those brave enough to stand by Roland's side.
There's a line that the Man in Black ominously states in the trailer: "Did you tell the kid that everyone who walks with you dies by my hand?" This statement isn't an empty threat. It's the reality. It's what happens to people who join the gunslinger. The friends who ally themselves with Roland are walking in the footprints of many, many skeletons.
Now, it must be said that reaching the Dark Tower is more than just a personal goal for Roland: it's his destiny. Or, as destiny and fate are referred to in the Dark Tower books, it's Ka. No one, not even Roland, knows what will actually happen when he reaches the Tower. No one understands what mysteries lie inside it, or if Gan is really at the top. And when Roland does finally make it there, after centuries of walking in the beam's shadow... there is no guarantee that the answers will be what he wants them to be.
