Stephen King Says Mike Flanagan's Plan For The Dark Tower Adaptation Is 'Perfect'

Mike Flanagan is a modern horror master who's adept at telling stories on both the big and small screen. From "The Haunting of Hill House" on Netflix to his underseen micro-budget thriller "Hush," the man has proven time and time again he's got the goods. More specifically, Flanagan has shown that he knows what it takes to make a great Stephen King adaptation, with the filmmaker putting his stamp on "The Life of Chuck" later this year. For King fans, (hopefully) the best is yet to come as Flanagan is working on bringing the author's "The Dark Tower" saga to life as a TV series.

While much remains up in the air, King has given the project his blessing. More than that, he's gone so far as to classify Flanagan's take on "The Dark Tower" as "perfect." On a recent episode of "The Kingcast," host Eric Vespe brought up the forthcoming TV show and, while the famed author didn't have too much to say, what he did offer was extremely encouraging. Per King:

"I've seen screenplays and pitches. He starts where he should start. The beats are perfect. They're just perfect."

"He's the King Whisperer," King joked about Flanagan's growing reputation in terms of being able to successfully adapt the author's most challenging works for the screen, with 2017's "Gerald's Game" perhaps being the greatest example. ("Doctor Sleep" is certainly another.) Given that "The Dark Tower" consists of eight books published over several decades, it would certainly be fair to say that adapting this sprawling epic qualifies as a challenge. This is to say nothing of the sky-high expectations that fans have for the show. No pressure.

Somewhat ironically, 2017 is the same year that the "Dark Tower" movie hit theaters and bombed at the box office, serving as both a critical and commercial disaster. That film, which was directed by Nikolaj Arcel, starred Idris Elba as Roland Deschain, aka The Gunslinger, with Matthew McConaughey appearing as Walter Padick, aka Randall Flagg, aka The Man in Black.

To say that bringing a satisfying, faithful adaptation of King's most ambitious tale to the screen has been difficult would be an understatement. After the "Dark Tower" movie failed, Amazon set about trying to make a "Dark Tower" TV show with former "The Walking Dead" showrunner Glen Mazzara, which was later scrapped. Mazzara's plan was to start with "Wizard and Glass," which is the fourth book in the series overall, rather than "The Gunslinger," which is the first and was originally published in 1982. As for where Flangan intends to start? That remains to be seen, although King seems to believe he has the right idea. 

Flanagan also feels like the right man for the job. Between his TV experience on shows like "Midnight Mass" and his proven track record with making King's work sing on screen, it's hard to argue against putting him in charge. The only problem is that Flanagan is a very, very busy man. He's currently working on a new "Exorcist" movie for Blumhouse and Universal, which looks to be his next project. Also on the King front, he's developing a TV version of "Carrie" for Prime Video.

Flanagan provided a little update on the project in November 2024, likening the "Dark Tower" series to "launching an oil tanker." He also explained that the show "was stalled first by me moving from Netflix to Amazon and stalled again by the strikes." For those who may not recall, 2023 saw both the Screen Actors Guild and Writers Guild of America go on strike for months. With any luck, once Flanagan's done with "Exorcist," this long-awaited project can truly, finally get underway.

"The Dark Tower" remains without a release date, but you can get ready by picking up the books from Amazon.