Matthew McConaughey Circling 'The Dark Tower'
Wed, November 18, 2015 
As long as Stephen King's film adaptation of his Dark Tower series has been in the pipeline, we seemingly are getting closer and closer to it actually happening.
With a studio and production company behind the project (Sony and MRC), a director on board (Nikolaj Arcel) and a slew of talent on the production side (Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Akiva Goldsman), the mission now is to cast the film, with reports saying none other than Matthew McConaughey is being offered the chance to star.
While you might assume the Oscar winner is being courted to play the protagonist 'Gunslinger' Roland Deschain, word is the actor has actually been offered both the role of Deschain and the antagonist Walter Padick AKA the Man in Black.
Basically, McConaughey has the luxury of picking whichever role he likes (though word is he's leaning towards the villainous character of Padick). Ironically, this character first appeared in Stephen King's other epic novel, The Stand, going by the name of Randall Flagg, a role in which McConaughey has been heavily rumored to be up for in that film adaptation as well.
Personally, I think Mr. Alright Alright Alright is a better fit for the villain role and it sounds like he's heading in that direction too. No word on who else the filmmakers are looking at for the lead of Deschain if McConaughey does in fact choose the dark side, but here's hoping Viggo Mortensen is paying attention.
The Dark Tower - which is to be based on the first novel in the series, The Gunslinger - is set for release January 13th, 2017.
Reader Comments (2)
McConaughey would be fantastic as the man in black. He's a god awful villain but at the same time he's got sort of this manic, crazy good cheer that I think he would really excel at portraying. You know, it's funny, in the books Roland is described as being a close to dead ringer for Clint Eastwood who, of course, is too old to play the role now but I'm still holding out for Viggo. Haha :) I can't wait until the casting is finalized; this entire series has been a very long journey for most of us who have read it and if the casting isn't dead on, I think that would cause problems later on in terms of marketability and staying power. Unfortunately many of Kings best loved works don't typically translate well to the the big, or small, screen.
I definitely agree. I think McConaughey is a much better fit for the villain role too. Certainly over the past few years he's shown his capability of being able to deliver complex, extreme performances so I think the Man in Black would be right up his alley. As for Roland, who knows who they get. I know Viggo is popular for the role but he has such a reputation of being difficult to work with, it's hard to imagine him signing on for this, let alone multiple films. And while King's track record for book to film adaptation isn't good, just remember there are a few gems in there: The Shawshank Redemption and The Green MIle. Keep hope alive.