Mike Flanagan Previews His TV and Film Plans for Stephen King’s THE DARK TOWER Series

There have been several attempts by directors and writers to tackle the behemoth that is Stephen King’S The Dark Tower series of novels. At one point, Ron Howard was attached to the title, but it fell apart. Then the 2017 movie was made, and while some fans liked it, it flopped at the box office, and that put a stop to the future of the franchise in that incarnation.

Now, Mike Flanaganwho is a trusted author in the horror genre, having made The Haunting of Hill House, The Nightmare of Bly Manor, Midnight Mass, The Fall of the House of Usherand the next one Exorcist film, is at the helm of The Dark Towerand has a few things to say about the project.

In a recent interview with THR, Flanagan was asked if he envisions the project as a play or a movie. He explained:

“That thing is launching an oil tanker. But we’re working on it. It was blocked first by me moving from Netflix to Amazon and blocked again by strikes. It’s progressing and we’re further along than we’ve ever been. I see feature components in some of the other stories, but the main story is an ongoing series.”

Flanagan is no stranger to King’s work, having previously adapted it Gerald’s Game, Doctor Sleepand the next movie Chuck’s Lifewhich debuts at the Toronto International Film Festival this week. He began reading the author as a child, and spoke enthusiastically about his hero in the interview, saying:

“As a child, I couldn’t watch horror movies. They scared me too much. To try to hang out with my peers, I thought I could read scary books to become braver.

Stephen King was one of the first authors I encountered, and I learned the hard way that he’s much scarier on the page. And yes, clowns and monsters are terrifying.

But it only works because of his incredible humanistic care for the characters. He’s always been my hero as a writer.”

If Flanagan has his way, this won’t be his last King adaptation. When asked if he had a project that had eluded him in his career, the director said:

“I wrote a screenplay for Stephen King’s novel Rebirthone of my favorite things I’ve ever written, but it fell apart. Now it’s gone because I The Dark Tower. Stephen doesn’t like you sitting on more than one thing at a time. It means something isn’t getting done.”

We hope to see Flanagan Rebirth one day. For now, stay tuned for a release date for both Chuck’s LifeAND The Dark TowerWho do you hope to see in the cast of this series?