Stephen King’s greatest work may be hitting the big screen

Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group chairman Tom Rothman has found a franchise to sink his teeth into. Sony Pictures has teamed with MRC to co-finance The Dark Tower, Stephen King’s novel series set in a world woven with magic and revolving around the gunslinger Roland Deschain. Sony will distribute what is planned to be the first in a series of movies. A complementary TV series is also being developed by MRC. The new script is primarily based on the first book in the series, The Gunslinger, and the relationship between Roland and Jake. The film is a blend of horror and fantasy. The latest draft of the script is co-written by Akiva Goldsman and Jeff Pinkner. It was totally reconceived by Goldsman and Pinkner from the version that had been previously developed and which took root first at Universal and later at Warner Bros. Goldsman is producing through his Weed Road with Imagine Entertainment’s Ron Howard, Brian Grazer and Erica Huggins, and I believe the author is also in a producing capacity. Pinkner will be exec producer.