With Matthew McConaughey reportedly interested in playing the “Man In Black” in Stephen King’s fantasy epic The Dark Tower, it’s only fitting that the man sworn to chase him down is equally as charming, handsome, and bad-ass. And according to Deadline, he just might be.
Idris Elba is reportedly the front runner to play Roland Deschain in the upcoming film adaptation for Stephen King’s epic series, strapping on his pistols and cowboy hat to roam across the desert on his way to destiny. Though nothing is on paper yet, Deadline’s report seems to indicate that Elba is the lead pick for the role and that director Nikolaj Arcel’s inclusion seems to be a selling point.
For those who don’t know, Roland is the last of the gunslingers in King’s tale. They’re sort of like peacekeepers or “knights” in Gilead, all part of a place called Mid-World (I’m not an expert on the series, but it’s a nice mix of Tolkien-like fantasy and the real world). Basically picture Clint Eastwood’s Man With No Name character from the Sergio Leone westerns, mixed with some Arthurian legend and a bit of Middle Earth, and you have Roland Deschain.
Oh and he’s white in the stories, but I doubt that would be an issue. Elba might be “too street” to play James Bond, but he can be a gunslinger. And it would be bad-ass.
The film is set to enter theaters in January 2017 (if we’re lucky) and will likely lead to an entire series of films (also if we’re lucky). If we get McConaughey and Elba in this series, while also getting McConaughey in The Stand, I don’t think it’ll be too tough to call out the “best” Stephen King adaptations in the future. Well, at least the ones that will come after Silver Bullet, the greatest of the Stephen King films.
(Via Deadline / The AV Club)
