THE DARK TOWER is almost here, which is amazing to think about because the movie almost didn’t happen. Going through a series of directors and actors, the movie seemed doomed to cinematic purgatory. But that hell is behind us, and Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey are months away from rocking our socks off.
We also have producer Ron Howard to thank for sticking with the project for years, and director Nikolaj Arcel for stepping up to helm the beast. However, many people have wondered if Howard, an Oscar-winning director, will ever step back behind the camera to give directing a film in the series another shot. Cinema Blend straight-up asked him, and his answer is quite interesting:
“I'm in the role of executive producer. [Director] Nick Arcel has done a terrific job on the [first] movie. I really… I've just recently seen a first cut, so he's still hard at work on it. But it's really impressive. He's done a great job. Stephen King is really happy with what he's read, and knows about. And we do hope to take it on into television and, you know, I love that world. I love that universe. So I can't make any commitments, but I've stayed with that project all of these years for a real reason, and I hope to be as close to it as I can be.”
Though Howard sounds excited about what Arcel is doing with the film he seems open to the possibility of directing a future film in the series, if such an opportunity arises. For now he seems focused on behind-the-scenes stuff, and the DARK TOWER TV series, but if Arcel decided not to direct any more entries Howard seems perfectly comfortable with taking on the job.
Whether it’s Arcel or Howard I don’t care, all I want is to see this fudging movie. The production hell it went through alone is enough to generate an undying curiosity in me, if not also for the stellar cast. The fact that Howard has enough passion for this project to stick by it for six years leads me to believe there’s something great about it. That or he lost a bet with the devil, and can never leave the film under risk of forfeiting his eternal soul. But I'm gonna go with the passion bit.
We will see if the movie was worth the wait on February 17, 2017, but you can see Ron Howard's newest directorial effort, INFERNO, with Tom Hanks and Felicity Jones on October 28.