Now that Stephen King’s ‘The Dark Tower’ series is finally on the way to cinemas (even if does seem rushed, as they are attempting a January 2017 release date), and we have a director in Nikolaj Arcel (‘A Royal Affair’), fans have been clamoring to learn who the lead characters, the infamous “Man in Black” and ‘The Gunslinger’ are going to be portrayed by. It was recently confirmed in a surprising but brilliant casting move that Matthew McConaughey would be playing the “Man in Black,” a decision that makes sense, and definitely got Arcel excited for the forthcoming movie. In his words:
“Matthew is an incredible actor who can do anything. That’s how I feel about Walter Padick. He could do anything…He is this timeless sorcerer, and being a Stephen King fan, I’ve read and experienced Walter in various iterations. He has a very interesting way of seeing the world. He sees it with a sort of delight, even though he is obviously on the wrong side of the light-and-dark spectrum. He’s someone I’ve been having a lot of fun with.”
Of course, casting the lead of ‘The Gunslinger” will clearly be just as difficult if not more so. Fortunately, it seems Arcel has just confirmed that the role will go to Idris Elba, a move that is amazing both for the franchise, and of course, the actor, who all too often has to sit on the sidelines in big franchise movies while other actors star (*cough*Thor*cough*.) Elba does seem like a good match, (even if there are sure to be those on the internet complaining that “The Gunslinger” is not black, which at this point really does not matter) and Arcel seems to have nothing but great things to say about Elba:
“For me, it just clicked. He’s such a formidable man…I had to go to Idris and tell him my vision for the entire journey with Roland and the ka-tet. We discussed, who is this character? What’s he about? What’s his quest? What’s his psychology? We tried to figure out if we saw the same guy. And we absolutely had all the same ideas and thoughts. He had a unique vision for who Roland would be.”
The casting alone is enough to pique my interest in the film, as Elba and McConaughey are in high demand right now, and both have been looking for a franchise to join for some time now. If they feel ‘The Dark Tower’ has enough potential that they both want to jump on board, I cannot help but think this might be something special. What are your thoughts on the casting for ‘The Dark Tower?’ Do you think Elba and McConaughey will play off each other well as enemies? Share your opinions in the comments below!
Source: Collider
