Roland Deschain (Idris Elba) in Columbia Pictures’ The Dark Tower.
The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.
~~ Stephen King; The Gunslinger
I’m a little bit of a Stephen King nerd. I admit it. I’m not hyper-crazy or anything (nevermind that I used to write letters to him that I never sent, telling him about my writing). But I do love most of his work. And I have an awful lot in hardcover.
Imagine my fangirl squeeing when this came up in my Twitter feed:
.@idriselba You want the Tower?
— Matthew McConaughey (@McConaughey) May 2, 2017
And then this:
To find the tower is my purpose. I’m sworn.
— Idris Elba (@idriselba) May 2, 2017
And then the rest of the conversation, complete with short little video teasers:
You know nothing of me.
— Idris Elba (@idriselba) May 2, 2017
I know this. Deal with it. #DarkTowerMovie pic.twitter.com/NdDw4qtD0w
— Matthew McConaughey (@McConaughey) May 2, 2017
I deal in lead. #DarkTowerMovie pic.twitter.com/IvpjVKFHCH
— Idris Elba (@idriselba) May 2, 2017
Why, yes. You’re absolutely right. My little fangirl heart did almost explode with excitement. Thank you for noticing! The hours until the official trailer’s release felt like the last hours of the final day before summer vacation when I was ten.
And then…like Christmas morning, it arrived! When I hit play, my pulse thumped in my ears and I clapped like a little kid — because I really am ten years old. I am not ashamed to admit that I watched the trailer multiple times (“multiple” might or might not mean eight… or perhaps twelve), squeeing a lot (much to my husband’s amusement).
Why was I so excited? I mean, the Dark Tower series isn’t even my favorite in terms of King’s work (those would be Misery and It, and a whole bunch of short stories).
I’m excited because this has been a really, really, really long time coming. But I’m even more excited because I think casting Idris Elba as Roland and Matthew McConaughey as the Man in Black are perfect choices.
Did you tell the kid whoever walks with you dies by my hand?
~~ The Man in Black
There is a lot of back and forth among fans about whether it is appropriate to cast a black man as Roland, who is quite clearly white — and not “default white,” but specifically white — in the series. Opponents of Elba’s casting quite rightly cite the fact that that Roland’s skin color is a strong element in his interactions with one of the main characters of the books and casting a black man effectively eliminates an entire sub-plot from the story. And understanding how bad some previous King adaptations have been, this wild departure from the source material can seem like the movie is already doomed to be horrible before it’s even in the theaters.
And… if this were an actual adaptation, I’d be inclined toward annoyance at such a drastic diversion from the books (though it does, as always, depend on how and why a diversion is done). But this isn’t an adaptation. This is what I think folks may not realize. The Dark Tower movie is actually a sequel to the books. It occurs after the final book in the series. Serious Dark Tower fans recognized this pretty early on when Stephen King tweeted this:
The Dark Tower is close, now. The Crimson King awaits. Soon Roland will raise the Horn of Eld. And blow. pic.twitter.com/rqGSKM3dWL
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) May 19, 2016
I’m not going to explain how that tells us that the movie comes after the books, as that’s a pretty big spoiler. If you haven’t read the books and really want to know, you can read a spoiler for the final Dark Tower book at the Book Spoiler. The result of this is that the subplot where Roland’s skin color matters isn’t in this movie. Whether the character it matters to will be in a future movie isn’t something we know yet. But, for now, the fact that the movie is a sequel makes the color of Roland’s skin a non-issue.
Understanding that this is a sequel rather than an adaptation means that it’s okay that Roland of Gilead isn’t white with piercing blue eyes. And it makes it okay that Roland and Jake go to New York City in this first movie, even though Roland doesn’t experience NYC until second book in the actual series. In essence, being a sequel means that this is an entirely new story. And I find that super exciting!
Plus, seeing Matthew McConaughey and Idris Elba playing these characters, even in the short clips within the trailer, really shows off how well-cast they actually are in terms of talent. I feel they are doing these characters justice, at least so far.
I do not aim with my hand; he who aims with his hand has forgotten the face of his father.
I aim with my eye.