Mike Flanagan Eager to Adapt Stephen King's 'The Dark Tower'

Horror director Mike Flanagan has voiced his strong desire to adapt Stephen King's sprawling fantasy series, "The Dark Tower," into a screen project. Flanagan stated that he is "desperate" to tackle the adaptation and continue his work with King's literary universe.

Flanagan, known for his successful television horror adaptations such as "The Haunting of Hill House," "The Haunting of Bly Manor," "Midnight Mass," and "The Fall of the House of Usher," has a history of successfully bringing King's works to the screen. His previous King adaptations include the 2017 film "Gerald's Game," the 2019 movie "Doctor Sleep," and the recently released "Carrie" reboot.

He noted that both he and King are eager to bring "The Dark Tower" to fruition, describing it as a project they wish to see on screen "as soon as possible." However, Flanagan acknowledged the significant challenges in initiating such an ambitious undertaking, explaining that he and King are still navigating legal complexities to secure a formal greenlight.

"I have been working on scripts for years – and, those are in very good shape," Flanagan told Page Six, indicating progress on the writing front. He elaborated that they "need that starter pistol to go off. We need the green light."

"The Dark Tower" series comprises eight novels and a novella published between 1982 and 2012, centering on a gunslinger's quest to protect a pivotal mythical structure. The series has previously been adapted into a 2017 film starring Matthew McConaughey and Idris Elba, which received largely negative reviews and holds a 16% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Amazon had previously held the rights to adapt the series but passed on a pilot in 2020.

Flanagan, who became involved with "The Dark Tower" project in 2022, described his and King's vision as "creative." He also mentioned other literary works he would be interested in adapting, including King's "Revival" and "Hearts in Atlantis," as well as "Hex" by Dutch author Thomas Olde Heuvelt. Flanagan noted that he included a nod to "Hex" in his new "Carrie" series, which premiered on Prime Video on October 7.