Javier Bardem to Star in Massive New Film and TV Adaptation of Stephen King's 'The Dark Tower'
by Sean Comer
Always give Stephen King this much due: for every cult-classic adaptation of "The Shining," "It," "The Shawshank Redemption" or "Carrie," fans get suckered into two absolute wastes like "Dreamcatcher" or "The Langoliers." But no matter the track record, King's turns to the big and small screens get the best and brightest involved, from legendary auteur director Stanley Kubrick, to Jack Nicholson, Tim Curry, John Cusack, Kathy Bates and Morgan Freeman.
In that sense, I now deem 2013's "The Dark Tower" to be "off on the right foot" with an early casting coup.
According to Totalfilm.com,Oscar-winner Javier Bardem has said "yes" to playing the series' focal gunslinger, Roland Deschain.
Bardem's turn will swap between three film installments directed by Ron Howard for Universal Studios, and two TV-series seasons running between each film's release. The film trilogy's debut is currently set to open May 17, 2013, and production is set to start in September of this year.
The Dark Tower adaption has thus far been the dragon slaying a few knights who have come to conquer it. It was 2007 and well into Lost's legendary run of dominance when J.J. Abrams announced that he would produce and direct the sci-fi Western's big-screen turn after Lost ended.
King reportedly optioned the series to Lost co-creators Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse for the ridiculously low price of $19. In April 2009, word around the campfire was that the three would tackle "The Dark Tower" together after the 2010 "Lost" finale.
It was all going so well, but by November 2009, Abrams told MTV that he and Lindelof were too cautious of adopting a work they had long cherished in the wake of some measure of burn-out after years spent on "Lost." Ron Howard has taken on the directing duties for the series and films.
In other Javier Bardem news, the Academy Award winning actor has also landed a role as a villain in the upcoming James Bond Movie. No word yet on who precisely he will play in the as-yet-untitles Bond #23, but trust us, friend-o, it's bound to be something particularly bad...