Why Hasn't Stephen King Released The Dark Tower Series to Film?

'The Dark Tower' has been revered as one of the greatest works of dark fantasy in fiction today. But, with all of the accolades that have been given towards the series, it still has not been released into film form yet. So, the real question that has to be asked is why?

King, who has released many of his books on either the big screen or small screen, has always seemed to pull hit after hit out of his bag and show us darker realms that he made to enthrall us, captivate us, and even make us think of why humanity chooses to take its stand against the darkness. But, even with all of his hits, he still chosses to leave Roland and his group of fledgling gunslingers shaking in the wind like so many reeds. Is it because it was based on many of his other books as the dimensions were created from other worlds that he had made in years before, such as Jerusalem's Lot and the world of his major hit 'The Stand'? Is it simply becuase he has not had the time to even consider a possible screenplay concept based on the first book of the series, 'The Gunslinger', which is set in a barren postapocalyptic Wild West world where all technology is but a thing of the past and has been reverted to the technology of the 1800's? Or, is it simply because he does not feel that Roland's story is good enough to put on film, as he has had so many other film hits that he can add to his mantlepiece, such as 'The Stand', 'Desperation', and even his maxi-series, 'Kingdom Hospital' (*which was spurned off of another international series made by the Dutch that had captivated his imagination)? Whatever the case may be, it could be very well possible that those who are avid readers and fans of King's work may now be left scratching their heads as to why the fabled series is collecting dust on their shelves while we wait to see if King will have the definitive decision-making skills to actually put the screenplay to paper and attempt to seel it to movie studios and/or the networks.

King began his penning of 'The Dark Tower' series in his early adulthood in the 1970's, and since then it has been looked at as a 'cult' classic among his readers. We are shown worlds that one can only dream of, as we are not only seeing a different world thorough his eyes, we are shown into a richly detailed landscape that is abundant with possibilities. We hear such terms as 'ka', 'ka-tet', and learn of the lineage of Arthur the Eld. We come to know of things such as Manni priests, who are servants of the Man Jesus and the history of the Freemen, a militia that looks to destroy Roland's world for the sake of what is called 'democracy', which has been outlawed and is punishable by death is you are caught perpetuating the rise of this sentiment. We basically are seeing our own world in reality, but in a darker light where things are so much different than we are used to, and we not only realize that Roland is a character that we can identify with, but also a world that we are dying to understand as we pour into each book to look into the glass once again to gain a greater clarity of what is being written. With all of this, should there are least be a consideration made on the part of King?

For those of you who are not familiar with the series and would like to give it a try, here is a brief overview of the series:

The books begin in an alternate reality very close to our own, except that it is a barren world where nuclear war has already taken place and left this realm in a state of chaos and disorder as it is in constant upheaval with the likes of such as foes as the Freeemen (*whom I have just described above) and the reemergence of another well-known evil character that we all know from another of King's works, Randall Flag.

The last line of defense of this world lay in the hands of one lone gunslinger is the last hope of the universe as we know it. A man by the name of Roland Deschains of Gilead. Roland, at this time, has been alive for 1,000 of our years and does not look a bit over forty. Roland has been in pursuit of Flagg since he became a gunslinger, and will not stop until he finds Flagg in order to avenge the deaths of his mother and father, who were in essence the rulers of this realm , which would make him the Crown Prince. However, Roland's mission came at a great cost, as he became a gunslinger at the age of fourteen instead of the usual seventeen, and since then he has been roaming the wide open spaces of space, time, and alternate realities as he continues his quest in search of the mysterious Flagg.

But, Roland is not alone, as he has employed the services of an unlikely and strange trio of people from our known reality, and trains them to be as he is. But, he still has not bargained on these new pupils, as all of them come from varied backgrounds and varied jaded pasts, which still puts him on guard as the books continue. We have Jake, Son of Elmer, who was supposed to have been murdered in New York in his pre-teens years after he was stuck by a speeding car. A child of privilege coming from a family of high-powered people (his father, a major television network executive and drug addict), and his mother, a simply housewife of priviledge, Jake had first happened upon Roland in his dimension in the first book, 'The Gunsslinger', where after his death he had found himself trapped in the gunslinger's world. In an attempt to bring to justice one of Flagg's minions, who was known as the Gray Man (*Legion from King's 'Storm Of The Century'), Roland was forced to make a choice where he had allowed Jake to die so that he could catch Legion in order to find out Flagg's whereabouts, with Jake simply stating 'there are other worlds than these' during the time of his death where he let go of Roland's hand in order to complete his mission. In later books, Roland regrets his decision and in a fateful decision, saves Jake's life in a fight against time, therefore creating what is called in his world a 'thinny', which is a paradox in time that could very well be driving Roland insane as his memories are now becoming in constant conflict as he struggles to remember all that which he has done before.

We also have Eddie Dean, a heroin addict and roughneck from the same city, but different time period (1977, to be precise), who becomes another one of Roland's pupils after taking over his body and bringing him back to another dimesion, where Roland lays dying after meeting with a large group of poisonous creatures that he calls 'lobstrocities', which are a combination of a spider, scorpion , and lobster whose venom is like acid against the skin. Over time, Eddie finds that he is overcoming his struggle against his drug addiction, and is becoming an almost Lancelot- style aide to Roland. Although he may not like this dimension, he is finding that sometimes you have to look beyond yourself and see a higher purpose.

Lastly, we have Eddie's current wife, Susannah, who was also known as Odetta James and Detta Walker from New York in 1962. A socialite and daughter of prominent and rich African-American parents, Susannah also suffers from multiple personality disorder and is a paraplegic, where she lost her legs after a tragic attempted murder by a sociopathic killer who pushed her in front of an oncoming subway train where her legs were cut off under the wheels. In an attempt to save Susannah, Roland did as he had done with Eddie, where a door had appeared to Roland in his dimension that led to her time. Pulling her back, he had found that the woman's personalities were extremely hard to control, and he was finding that he would have to call upon them one at a time as they were needed. Especially one particular one in the form of Detta Walker, a murderous seductress who is wicked to the bone and would not think twice of killing Roland or eddie as they slept. But, all was not lost, as soon Eddie had fallen in love with odetta, as she was quite a bit older than he was, and in order to continue the mission, Roland must resort to magic to create a new personality of Susannah Dean, who later becomes Eddie's wife later in the series. But, Roland still has his reservations about the woman, and fears that either Susannah will die at Flagg's hands when they do reach the Tower, or that he may have to kill her himself as an act of mercy as he worries that the woman may betray the lot of them!

Randall Flagg has been the ultimate antagonist in this series, even more so than he had been in 'The Stand', as Flagg is in control of the Dark Tower, which Roland had heard in legends from his own people as the very center of time and space, and the wicked entity looks to control the very fabric of the universe by fashioning it into his own design. if Roland does not reach the Tower, Flagg would be the ultimate ruler of the universe, and the four would not stand a chance in stopping him. But, they are willing to die trying!

With this rich of content and story, King has made himself fall into obscurity with releasing sub-standard works to film rather than stories that will help him boost his reader base even further than it is now. His last few releases to book form, 'Lisley's Song' and 'Cell', have met with some acclaim, but not as much as other great classic works that he has created, such as 'Carrie' or 'Christine'. It seems that each year that the author is constantly trying to re-invent himself in new ways, looking for new and interesting plots for his books and then making his pitch to the movie studios. The last two that have been released to the big screen, 'Dreamcatcher' starring Morgan Freeman and 'The Secret Window', starring Johnny Depp, Maria Bello, and Timothy Hutton, are what I classify as 'mediocre' at best, as they did not carry the same adrenaline-pumping horror that he has done in the past, such as in movies like 'The Stand', 'The Langoliers', or 'The Shining'.

King, while a great writer and one of my all-time favorites, has left those of us who are avid fans lacking and wanting more from the author. While there may be hardcore King purists that cling to him just simply over what he has done in the past, it makes one wonder what he has planned for the next year. He needs to take some great consideration into his first work, as after nearly thirty years since looking at the story, he has released the first four novels ('The Gunslinger', 'The Drawing Of The Three', 'The Wastelands', and 'Wizard and Glass') with new content. It makes me ask why he isn't making the time to at least go into talks with movie producers. He has already completed the last three books in the series ('Wolves Of The Calla', 'The Song of Susannah', and 'The Dark Tower') and now has been covering material that has already been covered by a multitude of writers, such as John Carpenter and Dean Koontz, who are meeting with even more acclaim as the years progress. As it is, Koontz's series, 'Odd Thomas', has met with great reviews and has the makings of an instant horror/suspense classic. So, why has King backed off?

Now, while not all of King's books that have been made into film have met with the same results, it is clearly present that King needs to look back to his roots and look again to the Tower. There could be great possibilites for him there in film form, and I alreay have a fantasy cast in mind that would help him further his efforts. Who knows, it could be possible that he may have a smash hit as well as a memorable experience for years to come. Look at J.K. Rowling, as her books are all being made into film and most have met with great reviews as well. Now, all King has to do is his sales pitch and see what happens.

I think that the thought that will come to his mind is simply this: 'Hey, who would have thought?'