Update on The Dark Tower

In an interview with Deadline to discuss the 25th Anniversary of their partnership, Brian Grazer and Ron Howard discussed their career together. They also provided an update on The Dark Tower which was recently delayed so the script could be reworked to meet a smaller budget mandated by Universal. Overall no new information was disclosed. They did reiterate that Javier Bardem wants to play Roland but no contract has been signed. No surprise as no point until a script exists. The full article can be found here with the Dark Tower segments below.

DEADLINE: Why does Dark Tower warrant three movies and two TV series in between?
HOWARD: The universe Steve King created is so dimensional and creative. It blends scope, sweep, and adventure with some very personal compelling stories. We could have tried to force all of it into one or two or three movies. It became clear to me that the medium of TV has become so bold and cool, we could use it to our advantage creatively and really fulfill the possibilities of this universe of characters King gave us to work with. We can use the intimacy of television when that’s appropriate, and the scope and scale of the big screen with the bigger fantasy ideas. We discovered elements that would probably never have a home either on the big screen or on TV, but would make fantastic narrative gaming opportunities that won’t rehash the movies or TV, but have its own material borne out of the books and graphic novels. We’ve got gaming designers and there is enthusiasm for that. It’s a way to use all the mediums at our disposal to try to fulfill what’s possible. Universal sees this as an asset that can benefit the company in a lot of different ways.

DEADLINE: You’ve been asked to bring down the budget. By how much?
GRAZER: I’m producing it with Akiva Goldsman, who wrote it to be sensitive to cost and is rewriting it to be more so. Without putting a number on it, the cuts aren’t that deep or that radical.

DEADLINE: Is Javier Bardem set to play the main gunslinger Roland Deschains?
HOWARD: Nobody is pay or play but he has said he wants to do it. We’ve spent a lot of time together. He’s fascinated by the character and has great instincts for Roland. I’m hoping when we go, he’s available and will join us.