Remember when Javier Bardem was set to play gunslinger Roland Deschain in a film and television adaptation of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series? And then when it was completely canceled because of budget issues? Then it was back on. Then it was coming to HBO. Take a deep breath, director Ron Howard is now saying it’s not happening anytime soon.
Howard is currently at work on the Formula One racing drama Rush starring Chris Hemsworth which he jumped on board with when The Dark Tower was delayed. While speaking about that project he was of course asked about the novel series that was originally set to be a film trilogy plus two seasons of television.
“We are continuing to work on the script to find ways to make the budget more manageable and still deliver the work in a way that the project deserves,” he said. “We were always racing and fast-tracking the project, so I always wince when I see something written about it and there’s a release date in there.” That supposed release date is still a ways away on May 17, 2013.
“These kinds of projects often take years to come together in the right ways,” Howard continued. “But I am in love with the material, and the minute it can come together in the right way, I am fully committed to it.”
So when is it ever going to come together? Let’s not forget, besides Rush, Howard still has that Arrested Development movie/tv episodes to work on too so he’s got a pretty full plate at the moment. It’s safe to say this project won’t ever be off the table entirely due to its popularity but it may be a very, very long time before it finally surfaces. I, for one, would be happy with it being entirely on HBO à la Game of Thrones rather than trying to make such an epic thing out of it. What do you think?
(via Blastr)
