"The Dark Tower" movie adaptation of the popular Stephen King novels has begun production, but it turns out the film may not be a direct adaptation of the first book in the series. Instead, it is opting to begin the story somewhere in the middle, as hinted by the casting of Jackie Earle Haley as the vampire lord Richard Sayre, as per a report from Deadline.
Sayre is described as a can-toi or rat-human disguising itself as a regular human. However, as stated in a report from Cinema Blend, Sayre does not yet appear in the books until "Wolves of the Calla," the fifth book in the series.
This indicates that the series of films will start in the middle, with flashbacks foretelling the events of the previous four books. These books, while crucial to the main plot, mostly focus on backstory and how lead character Roland Deschain (Idris Elba) forms his group of allies that will one day face against the Crimson King.
According to the report, this decision to start in the middle may indicate that the original plan of doing films and a tie-in television series may have been dropped. It is cited that doing both may be too expensive and risky for the studios and it may be too complex or convoluted for fans to follow.
However, concern is raised regarding the film's plot and presentation given that a lot of material will need to be cut in order for the studios to present the story of seven books in just three or four films.
Haley is no stranger to dark and brooding roles. The actor portrayed the grim hero Rorschach in "Watchmen" and portrayed Freddy Krueger in the 2010 reboot of "Nightmare on Elm Street." He was also seen recently in "Preacher."
"The Dark Tower" will be released in theaters on Feb. 17, 2017.
