The film was hit hard by critics and viewers alike earlier this year.
Taking in just $110 million in the worldwide box office and with reviews largely negative, it's fair to say that the Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey-led film 'The Dark Tower' flopped upon its release a little earlier this year. Author of the novels on which the movie was based, Stephen King, has now had his say on why he thinks that is.
Stephen King, widely renowned as a master of writing
King's storytelling is something that has impressed many over the decades, with novels such as 'Misery' and 'Mr Mercedes' proving popular. Another of King's most popular works is the 1,100+ page horror novel 'IT', which was this year adapted for the big screen, with Andy Muschietti serving as director.
Doing extremely well, the film has now been named the most successful horror movie in box office history, after breaking a number of records following its release.
So where did 'The Dark Tower' go wrong? King's work is still clearly adored.
Speaking with Vulture, the critically-acclaimed author said of the film: “The major challenge was to do a film based on a series of books that’s really long, about 3,000 pages. The other part of it was the decision to do a PG-13 feature adaptation of books that are extremely violent and deal with violent behaviour in a fairly graphic way. That was something that had to be overcome, although I’ve gotta say, I thought [screenwriter] Akiva Goldsman did a terrific job in taking a central part of the book and turning it into what I thought was a pretty good movie. The TV series they’re developing now... we’ll see what happens with that. It would be like a complete reboot, so we’ll just have to see.”
It would be interesting to see just how well 'The Dark Tower' would have done in a gritty, R-rated release, as we know they can do extremely well following the success of 'IT' and even the likes of Marvel's R-rated franchise 'Deadpool'.
There may be room for another big screen release in the future, but we imagine it would have to be with a whole cast of new actors and another go entirely at adapting King's stories. The television route may be just the right path to make this story a success in the world of entertainment outside of the novels, so we'll see how this one goes in the coming months.
More: Stephen King Personally Approved 'IT' Movie Plot Changes
'The Dark Tower' comes to home release later this year. 'IT' is in cinemas across the UK now.
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