The man behind the story himself, Stephen King, has tweeted that production has officially started on The Dark Tower, confirming that both Idris Elba (Prometheus, “Luther”) and Matthew McConaughey (Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation, “True Detective”) are to star.
It's official: The man in black fled across the desert and the gunslinger followed. #DarkTowerMovie @McConaughey @IdrisElba
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) March 1, 2016
The Dark Tower has long attempted to receive a film adaptation, often times languishing in development hell and being passed from writer to writer, director to director. But now it appears that the movie is in full swing with Elba slated to play gunslinger “Roland Deschain” and McConaughey taking on the role of the villainous “Man in Black”. Additionally, the role of Tirana was offered to Abbey Lee (Mad Max: Fury Road).
Nikolaj Arcel is directing The Dark Tower, which is currently set to bow on February 17th, 2017. EW has posted a massive interview with both King and Arcel.