First Look: Ron Howard's Adaptation Of Stephen King's THE DARK TOWER (Cancelled)

Over the years there have been several attempts to adapt Stephen King's epic Dark Tower series for the big and small screen. The closest attempt, and the most ambitious attempt, was Ron Howard's adaptation, with Universal set to produce. Howard planned to make three movies, but there also be a television mini-series in between each film. The financial risk became too much for Universal to bare, so they passed. Howard then took it to Warner Bros. but they too passed due to financial concerns. Last year, Howard said he is still hoping to move forward with the project but would keep mum until there was more concrete news to report. The screenplay was written by Akiva Goldsman ("A Beautiful Mind") and it would've been produced by Brian Grazer, Goldsman and Stephen King.

Below, are the first pieces of concept art to surface. These are designs of various sets: Devar Toi, Tull, The Dogan, The Manni Village, A Harrier Near The Speaking Ring, The Thinny, Tull, and The Speaking Ring. There's also two videos featuring a look at the town of Tull.

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.

In Roland’s where and when, the world has already begun to move on. Time and direction are in drift, and the fabric of reality is fraying. However, things are about to get much worse. The six invisible magnetic Beams, which maintain the alignment of time, space, size, and dimension, are weakening. Because of this, the Tower itself is foundering. Unless Roland can find a way to save the Beams and stabilize the Tower, all of reality will blink out of existence.

Inspired in equal parts by Robert Browning’s poem, “Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came,” J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, and Sergio Leone’s spaghetti Western classics, The Dark Tower series is an epic of Arthurian proportions. It is Stephen King’s magnum opus, and is the center of his amazing creative universe.