The man in black fled across the desert and the gunslinger followed. With Sony Pictures Entertainment beginning to tackle the adaptation of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series, we could be very close to seeing the first line of The Gunslinger play out on film and television. Even better, Deadline reports that we might be meeting those men soon: Matthew McConaughey is in talks to play the Man in Black, with Idris Elba the latest frontrunner for the eponymous gunslinger, Roland Deschain.
Now, this is still rumored, as neither McConaughey nor Elba nor any producers have commented on the potential deal. But it would be fantastic for Elba to have the opportunity to build a franchise, especially one with such an established following, especially as it doesn’t seem he’ll get the opportunity to play the next James Bond. I’m a recent Elba convert; I’d enjoyed him in bit roles like Heimdall in the Thor movies, and on The Office forever ago, but now that I’ve finally started watching Luther, I’m fully onboard with Idris Elba in everything. Now, Deschain would be a tough character to crack: at times detached and unsympathetic, yet still possessing enough charisma and cunning to get by. Yep, all of that brings to mind DCI John Luther.
In the meantime, if you don’t know much about The Dark Tower series, check out our Weird West primer!
