Bardem Offered The Dark Tower Lead Role?

Deadline.com is reporting that Javier Bardem has been offered the role of Roland Deschain for The Dark Tower trilogy and possible two television series about the Stephen King 7-novel epic.

I'm told that Bardem has officially been offered the lead role by director Ron Howard and Universal Pictures. While formal negotiations haven't yet begun, there's a high level of enthusiasm internally that they've got their cowboy. Akiva Goldsman has scripted the first movie, and will write the TV component as well. Imagine Entertainment’s Brian Grazer is producing with Goldsman and the author. Universal is financing and distributing the films, and NBC Universal Television Entertainment is backing the TV component, which will either be a limited run series or a miniseries.

Bardem was considered a frontrunner for the role along with Lord of the Rings' Viggo Mortensen. Earlier today there was even a rumor that Christian Bale was a contender for Roland.

The same source, the NY Post, has also said that Jennifer Carpenter (Dexter) "is rising on the short list for the role of Susannah, as is French/Moroccan Ghita Tazi." Considering the character of Susannah Dean is a black woman from 1964 that suffers from dual personalities and lost both her legs in a subway accident, the idea of an anorexic looking white woman in the role strikes me as a bit absurd. Previousily, Naomie Harris was rumored to be under consideration for the role. Especially when consider there are not really that many minority characters in the book. None of this has been officially confirmed so it all remains in the rumor column for now.