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Great fantasy worlds don't grow on trees. A studio or service Streaming does it have a "new Game of Thrones", a "new lord of the rings" or a "new Harry Potter" is discovered, the work has only just begun. A failed attempt and the mark is burned.
How do you approach a complex world of books? How much should you leave out? How much can you leave out without alienating book fans? A bad example, which failed precisely because of these challenges, appeared on television yesterday: The Dark Tower. You can still watch the movie on Netflix.
Now on Netflix: Watch The Dark Tower Trailer
The Dark Tower – Trailer 2 (German) HD
Fantasy of Lord of the Rings Scope: What is The Dark Tower?
The Dark Tower is one gigantic series of fantasy novels by Stephen King (It, Shining, Carrie) and perhaps his most important work. 8 novels plus several short stories and comics: The world of the Dark Tower (briefly explained here) fulfilled all the requirements for, well, become the new lord of the ringsa franchise that has captivated millions for years and decades.
After the first attempt fiasco, it's unlikely any studio will dare to make a new movie any time soon. Rarely has such a long start-up phase of 10 years (2007 to 2017) resulted in such a disappointing result. We pave the way to failure.
The Dark Tower Failure: Phase 1 with Star Wars director JJ Abrams
At that time, the name JJ Abrams was not associated with Star Wars, but with the cult mystery series Lost, a mass phenomenon of the 00s. The king trusted Abrams in 2007. his work, under the direction of his partner Lost Damon Lindelof (Watchmen).
However, after three years of development, Lindelof and Abrams, both huge King fans, pulled out of the film adaptation. The responsibility of touching this monumental work brought it full circle, according to Lindelof in an interview, which sealed the end. The duo would have been ideal to control this world and capture it on the big screen. Unfortunately, after 6 seasons of Lost, they lacked the courage, strength and final dedication to the project.
The Dark Tower Failure: Phase 2 with a trilogy and a series
In 2010, Universal announced that it would produce a trilogy and 2 series. This is the 2nd attempt to adapt the books. Ron Howard was to direct, Akiva Goldsman to write the script and a happy Stephen King to produce the project. It went well, the theatrical release date was set for May 17, 2013. Javier Bardem and Lord of the Rings star Viggo Mortensen were discussed as actors.
Then, in 2011, the first dark clouds appeared. The budget blasts Universal's plan, Variety reported. A few months later, the studio effectively pulls out. Funding through HBO and Netflix is being considered by King and Howard, who aren't giving up on the project, but nothing has happened in years. The plans for the trilogy and the series are rotting.
The Dark Tower Failure: Phase 3 with the film adaptation made but discouraged
In 2015, Sony took over and put the pressure on it. Howard is out as director, Nikolaj Arcel takes over. Stars Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey co-star, and the film hits theaters in 2017, ten years after JJ Abrams first attempted it. But the movie is only 95 minutes long., compared to other great fantasy epics based on books, is just ridiculous. Officials have leveled the model's epic potential. Again, the courage to dedicate oneself to the subject matter with the appropriate ambitions is lacking.
©Sony
The dark tower
The creators have toned down the material of the model to appeal to a wider audience. Producer Ron Howard, in retrospect, considers this to be one of the biggest mistakes: "It should have been horrible", Collider quotes him as saying. The model's author also criticizes the low age rating on Indie Wire.
A Sequel to The Dark Tower was therefore hardly subject to debate. Because in the end no one was satisfied with the result: neither the studio nor the readers of the books. Critics and audiences gave mixed ratings: An ugly 5.2 is available from Moviepilot. With a production cost of $60 million, the fantasy film only made $111 million, Variety reported. In early 2020, Amazon's plans for a TV series also died.
But no Lord of the Rings: What's next for The Dark Tower?
What do we remember from these 10 years of La Tour Sombre? Whatever the phase, those responsible for a The Dark Tower project have always slowed down before things got serious, and no one has really followed the path to the end: passionate fans like JJ Abrams have lost heart; Universal did not credit the material with any major success; Sony reduced it to a shadow of the original.
That's what makes the dark tower different hit fantasy series such as Game of Thrones, Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings. There have always been strong alliances of studios and creators who ended up “going all out” to get the best adaptation possible.
The dark tower is on today at 20:15 p.m. on Vox. The replay will follow on March 26 at 22 p.m.
Amazon's Lord of the Rings series: Will it be a fantasy highlight or a disappointment?
Amazon's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power series will soon tell a story set thousands of years before the events of the movies. But what exactly awaits us there?
Recommended editorial content
At this point, you will find external content that complements the article. You can show and hide it again with just one click.
In the Moviepilot podcast, we talk about what we already know about the Lord of the Rings series, what excites us and what could also put us off a little.
note: We have already published this article for the TV broadcast of The Dark Tower on July 15, 2021.
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SOURCE: Reviews News
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