Mike Flanagan Confirms Dark Tower Series Fate As Wait Continues For Stephen King Adaptation

Horror filmmaker Mike Flanagan has confirmed the fate of his planned adaptation of The Dark Tower as the wait continues for the Stephen King series' return. The Dark Tower book series tells the story of Roland Deschain and his ka-tet, a group bound together by fate, on his way to the titular Dark Tower, the center of all realities. A TV adaptation of the book series was announced in 2022, with Flanagan acquiring the rights and planning to adapt it under Amazon MGM Studios' umbrella.

In an interview with ScreenRant's Liam Crowley, Flanagan unpacked his future plans for The Dark Tower ahead of his forthcoming TV adaptation of Carrie. The filmmaker explained how, upon signing a deal with Amazon, the studio wanted to work with him on a Carrie adaptation as his first project. However, behind the scenes, he's still been developing The Dark Tower, which he believes will take quite some time before it arrives onscreen. This includes both creative development and rights acquisition due to the number of stories connected to the series.

Check out what Flanagan had to say below:

Liam Crowley: When you and Amazon first got linked up, it was about Dark Tower.

Mike Flanagan: Yeah. Well, we first got linked up as I moved my kind of overall deal over there. Dark Tower takes, and I'm not exaggerating, more than a calendar year just to move rights around because it involves so many other studios and so many characters who were spread out all over town. But Amazon, very quickly, when I got to the company, already had Carrie in mind. That was a priority for them. And my initial reaction was like, why do Carrie again? But it wouldn't leave me alone. It just wouldn't leave me alone. I'm so glad because it turned out to be one of my all-time favorite projects. Dark Tower, though, we're still pushing forward. It's an oil tanker of a project. But it's my dream adaptation.

Liam Crowley: So you believe we will see it one day?

Mike Flanagan: Absolutely. I do. And we've never stopped working on it. It's just that thing moves at its own pace for all these factors that have nothing to do with me or the story or anything. It's just the logistics of that thing; the legal logistics of that thing are beyond intimidating. It's a wild thing. But yeah, one of these days.

The Dark Tower is not as simple as adapting a seven-book series, as it contains a multitude of connections to other works by King, many of which are vital to the story the book series tells. This includes crucial appearances from characters like Randall Flagg, the main antagonist of The Stand, and Father Callahan, a major hero from 'Salem's Lot. Because the characters are connected to other properties already, it makes sense for Amazon to acquire the rights to as many elements of King's multiverse as possible to make a faithful adaptation.

Flanagan is no stranger to adapting King's work. He's previously created movie adaptations of Gerald's Game, Doctor Sleep, and The Life of Chuck, all of which earned critical praise. Carrie reviews have been positive. Flanagan's first TV show based on a King property is currently sitting at an 84% on Rotten Tomatoes. It's a good sign for The Dark Tower, which is also expected to be developed into a multi-season TV series. Since its development is ongoing, the latest show acts as a first glimpse into the style the filmmaker can bring to King's work on the small screen.

Beyond the scope of the King-verse, however, Flanagan has a number of other projects on the way. This includes the DCU's Clayface movie, for which he served as co-writer, and the upcoming The Exorcist: Martyrs, which he's writing, directing, producing, and editing. He's also expected to lend his talents to a Warhammer 40,000 project under Amazon's umbrella, while also producing the forthcoming psychological horror movie Rot.

It's a good sign that The Dark Tower is still in development at Amazon with Flanagan attached. While the TV series may require some additional development before it's finally complete, it's clear the filmmaker intends for the show to come out eventually. With its development ongoing, it seems like more news about the show will arrive as it inches closer to becoming a reality.

The Dark Tower