Matthew McConaughey Sums Up His ‘The Dark Tower’ Villain With A Single Black Sabbath Lyric

Earlier today we got our first look at the upcoming adaptation of Stephen King’s legendary The Dark Tower book series starring Idris Elba as Roland Deschain, The Gunslinger, and Matthew McConaughey as Roland’s foil, The Man in Black. The adaptation is a long time coming and fans are thrilled to finally see this story come to life, especially with two such talented actors at the forefront of the production. McConaughey sat down with Entertainment Weekly to discuss his character, and he summed him up perfectly with one lyric from legendary metal band Black Sabbath.

“Follow me now/ and you will not regret/ leaving the life you led/ before we met.” says McConaughey. It even works on multiple levels of interpretation. For those who are unfamiliar with the book series, it focuses on The Gunslinger chasing the Man in Black through a dimension known as Mid-World. As EW notes, Roland believes himself to be chasing the Man in Black, but in King’s own words, he’s “following” him. Additionally, while the Man isn’t explicitly the incarnation of the Devil, McConaughey thinks they’re pretty similar. “You know, he’s not literally the Devil, but I sure as hell think about him like the Devil.”

It’s a great interview that goes far more in-depth to McConaughey’s process in creating the role than one would expect. It’s clear that he’s taking it seriously and not just doing it for a paycheck. The Dark Tower series is a thematically rich literary work and deserves a tremendous adaptation, so if the work McConaughey is putting into the role shows onscreen, we’re all in for something very special.