Huh. Despite everything else we’ve heard about Javier Bardem being cast as Roland the Gunslinger in The Dark Tower mega-project from Universal, Ron Howard tells Entertainment Weekly that “Javier Bardem has shown a great deal of interest. We’ll know by the end of the summer, when our flashing green light goes solid.” So, it seems like Bardem is now only confirmed if the film is slated for production? I guess that makes sense — I mean, no actor is ever REALLY confirmed to star in a movie until the movie is actually filmed, you know. But it does sound sort of shaky, and I imagine that Bardem isn’t going to wait around forever.
Howard also spoke about the delays that the project is facing, confirming that the problems are because of its massive budget and whether Universal is willing to commit to it. However, he does complain that it is moving forward, and will problem start filming in spring 2012. That’s later than the February 2012 start date I reported earlier this month.
As a fan of the Stephen King novel series, I really hope they’ll be able to pull this together. The Dark Tower fans are a loyal bunch, and I imagine a poorly-made first film would blow up in Universal’s faces.
If production does resume, the film series will be directed by Ron Howard, with Akiva Goldsmith and Mark Verheiden writing the screenplays. The first film is set for a May 17, 2013 release, although that date seems unlikely now that the start of production has been pushed back six months… or more.
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