About a month ago, we reported on the huge deal Javier Bardem just made to play Roland Deschain in Ron Howard‘s film adaptation of Stephen King‘s sci-fi/fantasy/western series, The Dark Tower. It entailed a film trilogy that was to include an additional two-season TV deal intended to “bridge” the movies. And now it might not happen at all because of Universal‘s budget worries. Here is some context: Up until its most recent release, it had been releasing nothing but flops. That streak-breaking release: Fast [and Furious] Five.
According to Variety, Universal has been trying to decide whether to rework the adaptation to fit its budget or scrap it entirely and leave it up to Howard and co-producer Brian Grazer‘s own company, Imagine Entertainment. They could also take it to another willing studio if they desired. Their go-to scribe Akiva Goldsman was set to write the script and Bardem was thisclose to being officially official. While Universal is maintaining that they are moving forward as planned, this news follows the studio shelving another big-budget fantasy project, At the Mountains of Madness (which had Guillermo Del Toro and Tom Cruise attached to it).
So, it’s not dead yet, but I’d say it’s safe to make other plans for May 17, 2013 (its original intended release date) at the moment.
