Ever since the first full trailer for The Dark Tower dropped back in May, much of the fan focus has been on its nods to other Stephen King stories, and the promise of an ongoing King multiverse. While this fits today’s preferred Hollywood franchise model, it actually makes a lot of sense in this case, with King’s books frequently making fleeting reference to major characters, places and events from his previous works.
Rather than slyly placing references in for the canny-eyed viewer, the new The Dark Tower trailer is not so much a trailer for the film itself, but for the onset of the cinematic KINGdom it kicks off, taking us on a CGI tour through references to The Shining, It, Carrie, The Shawshank Redemption and Christine. While it will go without saying that the footage is not from the upcoming film itself, it’s interesting to note that the image from The Shining is quite clearly designed from Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation which King has, over the years, made no secret of his disdain for.
Walking its own path within the book series’ universe, The Dark Tower is something of an amalgamation/continuation of The Gunslinger Roland Deschain’s (Idris Elba) journey, as opposed to a direct adaptation of the stories laid out in King’s books.
Matthew McConaughey co-stars as Devil incarnate Walter O’Dim, aka the Man in Black in the film, which was directed by Nikolaj Arcel, and will hit cinemas on August 4th.
Words: Kevan Farrow (@KevanX)
