‘The Dark Tower’ Is Really Happening, Gets a 2017 Release Date

The Dark Tower is one of the longest-developing Stephen King adaptations — Ron Howard was on board to direct at one point, but is now simply producing the film, which will be directed by A Royal Affair helmer Nikolaj Arcel. Given how long and seemingly torturous the development on this project has been, it’s a bit surprising that Sony has finally set a release date for The Dark Tower.

Per Variety, Sony has announced a slew of new release dates — in addition to the Bad Boys sequels (plural!) that we reported earlier today, the studio has also set a January 13, 2017 release date for the first installment in The Dark Tower franchise.

Based on the series of Stephen King novels (there are seven total), The Dark Tower centers on Roland Deschain, the last of the Gunslingers in a world that has “moved on.” Roland follows a dark man across a desert in a place known as Mid-World and rescues a young boy named Jake, who joins him on his journey to the mysterious Dark Tower. Roland picks up other companions in subsequent novels and the story becomes increasingly fantastical, blending elements of westerns and fantasy.

The first Dark Tower book is the easiest to adapt, though it’s strange that it’s taken Sony this long to figure it out. Arcel is an excellent director, known for the stunning period drama A Royal Affair (which is far from your average period drama), starring Mads Mikkelsen and Alicia Vikander. Arcel also wrote the screenplays for the original Swedish version of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, as well as its follow-up miniseries.

Now that Sony has revealed an official release date, feel free to start speculating about who might play Roland — my pick is Michael Fassbender, for the record.