Posted 03.13.12 by Ryan Javier Bardem might yet begin his quest for the Dark Tower.
Nothing has been easy for director Ron Howard and his ambitious plans to adapt The Dark Tower, based on the popular, post-apocalyptic Western series from author Stephen King. Howard's plan for a trilogy of movies and two TV series to bridge the movies was unprecedented, and one that Universal ultimately rejected last July, even after Academy Award–winning screenwriter Akiva Goldsman (A Beautiful Mind) performed rewrites to help bring down the movie's budget.
Howard, Goldsman, and producer Brian Grazer remained resolute, and promised to continue to find financing and another studio to distribute, and it looks like they've been successful. Deadline reports that Warner Bros. is "very close" to a deal that would allow Howard to direct the first movie, possibly in early 2013. Warner Bros. has been long-rumored to be the studio that would take over The Dark Tower, especially after HBO, also owned by Time Warner, agreed to air the TV portion of the adaptation last October.
Bardem is still attached to play gunslinger Roland Deschain, who becomes humanity's last hope as he searches for the fabled Dark Tower, said to be the nexus of all universes. Bardem's participation would depend on scheduling. Goldsman, meanwhile, is finishing another polish of the script for the studio.
The news has to good to The Dark Tower's many fans, who are anxiously awaiting the eighth volume of the series, The Wind Through the Keyhole, which will arrive on bookshelves in April.