Abrams to Adapt Stephen King’s Dark Tower Series

Published by Jeremy on: May 3rd, 2009

J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof, the brains behind ABC’s hit show “Lost,” have expressed interest in completing an adaptation of Stephen King’s “The Dark Tower” series.

The two have gone as far as speaking with King and acquiring the rights to make a film based on the series for a mere $19.  This could mean there is a real possibility for this to happen after the two are finished wrapping the final season of “Lost.”  Lindelof told AMC that he would like to see “The Dark Tower” done in the same scope as the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

In theory, that sounds amazing, but for those that haven’t read King’s series, it’s worth noting that “The Dark Tower” is much more complicated.  There are multiple worlds, flashbacks within these extra dimensions, deeply rich characters, and a storyline that is somewhat difficult to understand without reading some of King’s other books.  He ties in characters and themes from throughout his career with this story, which is neat for the avid reader (like seeing an old friend show up), but might be hard to understand for those unfamiliar with his work at large.  Not to mention the series consists of seven books, which would be quite an undertaking.

I myself have been a fan of this series since my father introduced it to me some time ago.  I was able jump into reading “The Dark Tower” at what turned out to be an opportune point in its history, only waiting a relatively short time to read the completed story. My father began reading “The Dark Tower” series in the late seventies, where it began as a five part short story in a sci-fi magazine, and he was unable to see the conclusion until 2004.  The series has never had the sales of King’s other books but for those few that made the long journey the news of a potential film is somewhat scary.  However, it was easily one of the best series of books I have ever read.  I loved and hated everything about it, and I can’t wait to see what Abrams and Lindelof come up with.