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The Dark Tower Is Coming to the Small Screen

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Steph Auteri

Senior Contributor

Steph Auteri is a journalist who has written for the Atlantic, the Washington Post, Pacific Standard, VICE, and elsewhere. Her more creative work has appeared in Creative Nonfiction, under the gum tree, Poets & Writers, and other publications, and she is the Essays Editor for Hippocampus Magazine. Her essay, "The Fear That Lives Next to My Heart," published in Southwest Review, was listed as a Notable Essay in Best American Essays 2021. She also writes bookish stuff here and at the Feminist Book Club, is the author of A Dirty Word, and is the founder of Guerrilla Sex Ed. When not working, she enjoys yoga, embroidery, singing, cat snuggling, and staring at the birds in her backyard feeder. You can learn more at stephauteri.com and follow her on Insta/Threads at @stephauteri.

Last year, Stephen King’s The Dark Tower was adapted for the big screen, and fans everywhere rejoiced. After all, the series is considered somewhat of a cornerstone, tying together much of King’s work. Various elements of his novels and short stories collide throughout the series, making the existence of an entire Stephen King Universe that much more overt.

Dark Tower Series

When the film made it into theaters, however, the reviews were…not great. It was a blemish on a year that had been all about Stephen King.

But now Deadline reports that the series is facing a reboot as part of a deal Amazon made to bring a number of high-profile titles to its streaming service.

In a past post, I had asked if there was such a thing as too many Stephen King adaptations. Now, I’m wondering if there’s such a thing as too many Dark Tower adaptations, especially considering its poor showing in theaters. And it’s not as if the universe of the Dark Tower hasn’t been tackled before: There have been tie-in books by both King and other authors (including the children’s book Charlie the Choo-Choo), a prequel comic series, other comic adaptations, and even an online game.

But considering how compelling the series seems to be for readers, other writers, and for King himself, I suppose I’ll keep my lips zipped until I see the darn thing.