It has been a long time since we've received any substantial new updates on the long-awaited adaptation of Stephen King's beloved series The Dark Tower, but according to a new exclusive, it sounds like the wait will be more than worth it.
IGN reports that the upcoming show, which Mike Flanagan is developing for Amazon, will "prioritize faithfulness." And what better way to do that than by having the creator himself on board?
King confirmed his involvement during the IGN Fan Fest 2025.
"All I can say is it's happening. I am writing stuff now and I think that's all I want to say because the next thing you know, I'll stir up a bunch of stuff I don't necessarily want to stir up yet. I'm in process right now, and to say too much feels like a jinx."
The author didn't provide any other details about what he would be doing for the show, or even how much he's going to write, but this isn't the first time he has contributed to an adaptation. In 2020, King and his son, Owen King, co-wrote a new ending to his incredibly popular post-apocalyptic novel The Stand as part of the Paramount+ limited series that starred James Marsden, Alexander Skarsgård, Whoopi Goldberg, and more.
King working on The Dark Tower series just makes sense, especially because it has been a very long and arduous road to get this rather complex and genre-bending dark fantasy series adapted for the screen. There was a 2017 movie starring Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey but the film was critically panned and fans were unhappy with how the film tried to combine events from multiple novels.
As IGN notes, the mythology created by The Dark Tower, which encompasses the majority of the author's fictional world, is even more vast than the already huge The Stand. I don't know that The Dark Tower was ever going to work well in movie form. Even adapting it for television is going to be challenging.
But if anyone is up to the task it's Flanagan, especially if he's going to have King's immediate assistance on the project. Flanagan has already adapted several of King's works in the past, including Doctor Sleep and Gerald's Game, both of which were excellent. He also wrote, directed, and edited the upcoming adaptation of The Life of Chuck, a film that is already receiving rave reviews and will be released by Neon this June.
An adept writer, Flanagan is well-equipped to wade into the waters of King's fascinating Dark Tower series. He's also working on a television adaptation of Carrie for Amazon, making it even more clear that he's the go-to filmmaker when it comes to making King's works sing on screen.
We don't have much more intel to share about the upcoming adaptation, but stay tuned to 1428 Elm for all the news you could ever want on Stephen King, Mike Flanagan, and all thing