‘The Dark Tower’ Movie Gets a Release Date

Variety just reported a whole slew of release dates for Sony Pictures through 2017, but only one really matters–The Dark Tower.

I won’t go into the sordid details of The Dark Tower‘s sordid past because our own GeekDad Raymond Masters did that when it was announced that Sony had acquired the rights. January 13th, 2017 is the announced date for the first installment of the The Dark Tower films, The Gunslinger. And it seems Sony is, at least for now, keeping with the idea of doing films and a TV series to fill in between films.

Although Ron Howard is still attached as the producer, Nikolaj Arcel, the screenwriter behind the original Girl with the Dragon Tattoo film, is now attached as the director and is making a final pass over the screenplay. I think he is perfect to set the right tone and feel for the films.

For those who aren’t fans and have never read The Dark Tower, I will say–go read them now. To put in perspective how big of a deal this is to fans like me, I would rather The Dark Tower films get made than ever see another Star Wars movie. I love Star Wars, and I cannot wait to see Episode VII, but The Dark Tower means more to me and has been a bigger part of my life. If the project gets pushed or shut down again, it will absolutely break my heart.

I also want to thank the wonderful and talented Megan Lara for allowing me to use her art for this piece. She is my favorite pop culture artist and, in my mind, is the Dark Tower artist. You can find her work on shirts at TeePublic or as prints and a number of other items at her Etsy store. My plan for my next tattoo is her Dark Tower piece, He Followed. She is that good!