Stephen King’s Dark Tower Adaptation Snags Elba and McConaughey as Leads

One of Hollywood's worst-kept secrets came neatly packaged with a pleasant surprise today, as Stephen King confirmed on Twitter that the Dark Tower movie adaptation will star Idris Elba as the stoic, deadly gunslinger Roland of Gilead, and Matthew McConaughey as the mysterious, enigmatic Man in Black.

King's pseudo-Western/Fantasy eight-book epic has long been destined for the silver screen, and over the last year or so, rumors have run rampant about Elba's involvement, but McConaughey's attachment to the project comes as a surprise to many. More known for his rom-com and slacker roles, the Texas native does have a knack for the darker side, too, with twisted turns in the Southern-fried thriller Killer Joe and 2002's disturbing Frailty.

Interestingly, King claims that the film will begin in medias res: “[The movie] starts… in the middle of the story instead of at the beginning, which may upset some of the fans a little bit, but they'll get behind it, because it is the story.”

It's a bit unclear from King's statement as to whether the movie, then, will follow the path of the series' first book, The Gunslinger (which is also set in medias res) or if it will begin in a later book in order to introduce the main players of the tale in a more immediate fashion. The Drawing of the Three comes to mind, so that Roland's party might be fully populated right away, or perhaps Wizard and Glass to initiate a more chronological progression to Elba's character. 

Regardless, millions of Dark Tower fans eagerly await the arrival of the rest of Roland's ka-tet. Until then, Dear Readers, remember to aim with your eye, not with your hand.