Stephen King Comments On Reported Idris Elba 'Dark Tower' Casting

If you missed it, a few days ago a report surfaced that Idris Elba was the frontrunner to portray the gunslinger, Roland Deschain, in the long-awaited adaptation of Stephen King's The Dark Tower series.

While general moviegoers seemingly liked the idea of the 43 year-old Elba finally getting his shot at a starring role in a high-profile film franchise (he's been championed to take over as James Bond after Daniel Craig steps down), hardcore fans of King's Dark Tower saga were not so receptive.

Despite Elba being the right age and height (6' 3'') to bring the character of Roland Deschain to life, the blatant argument against his potential casting was Deschain always being written and illustrated as a white man, with Elba being black.

Now, Stephen King himself as responded to the controversy surrounding the news, tweeting out this comment Friday evening:

To me, the color of the gunslinger doesn't matter. What I care about is how fast he can draw...and that he takes care of the ka-tet.

— Stephen King (@StephenKing) December 12, 2015

The world-renowned author doesn't look to have a problem with the possibility of Elba, though many King fans are quick to argue that a decision like this is why his adaptations from page to screen never turn out well.

My take?

I think Elba is a top-notch actor and definitely deserves to have his shot at A-list stardom. He has the charisma of Tom Cruise, the screen presence of Will Smith, and the talent of Leonardo DiCaprio.

But...

I understand why his potential casting (remember, this isn't official yet) is a problem for many. The Dark Tower books - and the character of Roland Deschain - has been anticipated to be brought to the big screen for over 30 years. Fans have grown up and old reading this series and have every right to want an accurate page to screen portrayal of their beloved stories. Just imagine if Warner Bros. had cast a young black child as Harry Potter instead of Daniel Radcliffe?

Yeah, now I'm sure you see the point. The Dark Tower fans deserve to get a faithful adaptation like the Harry Potter ones did.

We'll keep you posted on more and/or official news of this project as it becomes available.

Source: Deadline, Twitter (Stephen King)