Rat farts! Just as it did with Guillermo del Toro’s AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS, Universal has passed on greenlighting THE DARK TOWER, the ambitious adaptation of Stephen King’s epic saga that was going to be turned into a trilogy of feature films and two limited-run TV series.

Deadline reports that Universal has passed on the project. Ron Howard was set to direct the first film from a script by Akiva Goldsman, with Brian Grazer, Goldsman and the author producing and Javier Bardem starring as the gunslinger Roland Deschain. Now, the filmmakers are stuck with the dilemma  of finding a new backer.

This development comes after Universal in May pushed plans to start production this summer on the first film until February, postponing to reduce the budget. Rumor has it that Universal reviewed Goldsman’s script for the first movie and first leg of the TV series, and would only commit to the single film. That wasn’t good enough for the filmmakers, who had already hired comic book and BATTLESTAR GALACTICA writer/producer Mark Verheiden to co-write the TV component with Goldsman, which was to be made for NBC Universal Television. Hopefully, unlike AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS, THE DARK TOWER can find a new home. We’ll let you know as news comes our way.

---

News - Latest