Freshly-anointed Golden Globe nominee Idris Elba is rumored to be the front-runner for the lead role in THE DARK TOWER, Sony’s adaptation of Stephen King’s horror-fantasy masterpiece. Elba would play Roland Deschain, the gunslinger who faces off against the evil Walter Padick, also known as the ‘Man in Black’–a role that Matthew McConaughey is said to be considering.
The basic plot centers on Deschain’s character, who roams an Old West-like landscape in search of a dark tower, in the hopes that reaching it will preserve his dying world.
The adaptation is being penned by Jeff Pinkner, Akiva Goldsman, Nikolaj Arcel and Anders Thomas Jensen. Arcel is also set to direct the first film of what is currently being planned as a series. The film is being produced by Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Goldsman and King. In addition, the project’s co-financer, Media Rights Capital, is developing a complimentary television series to accompany the release of the films.
Elba, who received two Golden Globe nominations on Thursday for his performances in the hit BBC series Luther and for the Netflix drama Beasts of No Nation, has a number of projects in the works, including Star Trek: Beyond and Bastille Day. He’ll lend his voice to two major upcoming releases–Disney’s Zootopia and The Jungle Book, both scheduled for 2016.
Elba is repped by WME, The Artists Partnership and The Celebrity Group.
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Josh Lyons | Associate Editor
