Stephen King's The Dark Tower has been one of those novels that's been ripe for a big-screen adaptation, but various attempts have failed at getting it anywhere.

JJ Abrams and Ron Howard both unsuccessfully tried to grasp it, however nothing came to fruition because, well, the books are bonkers. BONKERS. Anyway, Nikolaj Arcel has been signed on to direct the film with none other than Matthew McConaughey and Idris Elba confirmed to star in the film.

According to Stephen King himself, the film is now officially in pre-production and made the casting announcement via Twitter just an hour or two ago.

Getting McConaughey and Elba on board is a big win for The Dark Tower, a project that's been fallen into development hell more times than we count. For his part, Stephen King is extremely excited about it and has often considered The Dark Tower series to be his magnum opus.

Personally, we always thought Misery or The Tommyknockers were his best novels. We'd also throw The Eyes Of The Dragon in there as well.

Anyway, back to The Dark Tower. As to what role McConaughey and Elba will play, Idris Elba will be playing Roland Deschain, the Gunslinger whilst Matthew McConaughey will be playing Randall Flagg, the piece's central villain. There were rumours that McConaughey was going to play Randall Flagg in The Stand, however as we reported back in November, Sony was actively pursuing McConaughey for The Dark Tower.

The Dark Tower is scheduled for a 2017 release.

 

Via Twitter