I'm a newcomer to the Dark Tower series and since the movie is coming out next year, should I read all of the books or just the first one? Also, will the movie be set after the Dark Tower books series or will it be during the book series itself. My point is should I read the books before seeing the movie? Also, are there any of the Stephen King books that reference the Dark Tower series and if so, which ones are they?
shareI would say yes, definitely read all seven. I don't think the movie will be dependent on your reading the books, but definitely read all seven books, it's an excellent journey.
As far as which King books reference DT, nearly all of his books touch on the themes and ideas of the DT series in some way, shape or form.
I don't know if you're aware of this but I've already changed things. I killed Ben Linus.
--Sayid
Thanks for the heads up. I've been busy with classes and I've been bouncing back to college books to comic books so thank you for advising
shareYou forgot about "The Wind Through the Keyhole"...so all 8 books. ;)
Living is easy with eyes closed
Misunderstanding all you see
Hiya, ammovies! Welcome aboard our crazy ship.
You'll probably get a lot of opinions about this, but this movie is actually part adaptation, but more a sequel to the series. My recommendation would be to get these books under your belt. I mean, I've been recommending the entire series to anyone who would listen for years, and as a stand alone series it's a great read. I'm on my 3rd go now (just started the 3rd book). But since it's a sequel (trust me, it'll make more sense after reading the series) it would make sense to understand what's going on.
Now that being said, it also depends on a few things. Do you hate it when changes are made from books to movie adaptations, for instance? Do you have a serious problem with a formerly Caucasian protagonist being cast with a black actor? If any of these things are things that irk you, it might be safer to just watch the movie so you don't go in with rigid expectations. I've found that movies like this go over with people who are a little more flexible, but to each their own.
Whichever way you go, I hope you enjoy the series as much as I do. I've read a lot of books over the course of my life, and Wizard and Glass (the 4th in the series) is the best book I've ever read.
As a quick sidenote, like Max said, most of his books reference the Dark Tower, but the ones that pop to mind right off the top of my head and in no particular order are Eyes of the Dragon, Insomnia, Heart in Atlantis, The Talisman (and its sequel, Black House), Rose Madder and I feel like Bag of Bones might have had a reference to it, but I'm not positive about that last one. And I know for a fact there are a bunch of others I'm leaving out, but those are the ones that came to mind without needing another reference.
shareOkay joannatn, thanks for that. I'll take it into consideration since the movie comes out in February of next year. As for the Roland Deschain casting, I don't have a problem with Idris Elba playing Roland. I've always been a fan of his and I think he should do a great job. I'm pretty excited to see Matthew McCanaughey as the Man in Black since I love Matthew and I've been a fan of his since I watched Dazed and Confused and Interstellar.
shareI can't do a better reply than Jo, but my two cents: just read all 7! You'll be glad you did, despite the time it'll take. Since this movie is being called a sequel to the books, I'm sure it'll have tidbits, characters,and plot bits from any of the books. The more you are familiar with the books the more you'll understand those tid bits throughout.
I've not read many of the other books besides Eyes of the Dragon because I just haven't gotten to them yet. I'm weird as I'm not a big King fan, but I'm a massive DT fan. Also, the DT comics are fantastic and worth tracking down. Roland's backstory (and Mid Worlds, for that matter, right before the sh*t hits the fan) throughout the books are my favorite parts, so the comics were awesome IMO.
There's a lot to become familiar with, but the 7 DT books and the comics are some of the best reading out there.
As for the casting, I'm still on the fence over Elba, despite enjoying his roles this far. My criticism doesn't come from his skin color, tho. I just think he's physically not really anywhere near Roland. I watched Django Unchained last week and was amazed by Jamie Fox as Django. I kept telling my wife how good he'd have been as Roland. But whatever, it doesn't matter really. Elba would be better as the next Bond IMO. I'm sure he'll surprise me as Roland, but I'm reserving Judgement...
Mathew is a great choice as The Man in Black. He can do creepy and evil well. I've always liked the dude, but didn't think he had much range till the last 5 years or so. He and Woodie were amazing in True Detective. Stunning, in fact. So I'm totally down w/ him.
And one last question about the series?
shareFire when ready, ammovies!
shareIs it like Mad Max meet Book of Eli? The story I mean
share[deleted]
Hey, Ammies (I've decided - that's what you've been shortened to)!
I agree more with Jed. As a matter of fact, if someone asked me what I'd compare it to, Mad Max and Book of Eli wouldn't have even sprung to mind. It's really it's own thing. It's very hard to think of anything I could try to compare it to. There's a bit of a ol' west flare, a bit of a knight's code flare, we've got creatures and alternate realities, tech and fantasy, romance and tragedy... There's no comparison. It's its own wonderful creature.
Well I do love King Arthur!
shareJamie Fox as the Gunslinger? That's a great one.
shareSure, I'd rather have a younger Eastwood, like all DT fans, but that's not possible. Did you see Jamie Fox in Django? He was pretty awesome. Roland would be different than Django, but Fox nailed the part. I'd rather others over Fox, sure, anyway..
shareThis film doesn't look similar to any of King's book. It just shares some of the same names. This film is basically hoping to cash in on branding and Hunger Games fans.
shareYou like to state your opinion as fact, bud! The finished trailer isn't even released yet. It looks different to me too, but not in a terrible way (see, my opinion, not fact). I'm just as nervous about the outcome as you, so understand where you're coming from. I sure don't get a Hunger Games like series cash in. Jake doesn't look at all like a marketing department cash in decision, like Jennifer Lawrence.
If this was going to be a cash grab by Sony they'd be doing A LOT more to push it and make it known. They'd be marketing it like crazy otherwise. And Roland is too rough for a kiddie crowd. I'm sure they've changed him a little (not talking skin color, tired of that), but he's still not like any tween movie hero. I don't get the feelings your sharing from what I've seen yet. In time, maybe, but Idoubt that's where they're going. Or they'd have started with a young Roland, Cuthbert, Alain, etc adventure. They could have done that, too. Just my opinion vs yours...
You may be right, we will see. Not much real action on this board, so you are right. I shall reserve my real opinion for now, but watch how all these trolls change into new camps after release. Oh, all those changes were better, we never wanted a true boring adaptation... I wonder how many will actually do the right thing and bow down before me, crying my pardon? Zero! You will see.
shareWait a second... You think being right entitles you to have people "bowing down before you?" I have no problem admitting when I'm wrong, Ty, but I think it's a bit silly to expect the humblest of us to throw ourselves at your feet.
shareYeah, i know how that sounds, but i mean only the true blind faith trolls.
sharethe ardent defenders of both this, It 2017, and Ghostbusters 2016 -- they're ringing my troll bell. Something strange is going on, some of their arguments are really really shallow. I think that if u went to a more obscure movie forum, the defenders would be a tiny minority and quickly marginalized. Wonder why that is... and how much they make an hour.
shareWe are all entitled to build our own narrative. I surely never defended GB2016 (and if Ihad voiced my opinion, it would have been negative from beginning to end). Am I such a troll, friend? Because I, like many others you so call trolls, believe we should wait and see how it turns out? Why waste energy focusing on the negative?
As I told Tyler here or elsewhere: Your focus determines your reality. Do you understand that? Let me explain: if you focus on negative, your world becomes a pool of negativity. So watch who you're callin' a troll, bub. There's no reason for that w/ most of the regulars round these parts.
I noticed on Force Awakens board some real defenders, but also the phenomena you describe! There are "social media" consultant companies that hire people, fill floors of buildings with rows of computers and kids using socks to push agendas. There are also people who hope to please them by emulating whatever bizarre marketing trends (currently based on popular culture's sjw fascination) are emerging. Basically Opposite Trolls. Keep up the good fight and stay strong!
sharelol more like don't get drawn into a debate with them in the first place.
or try... :(
if you focus on negative, your world becomes a pool of negativity
^ Oh, hey! It's that guy from 1955 that stole Doc Brown's DeLorean.
---
It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing .
Laugh it up, Fuzzball!
But really, what's the problem with my post? Sure, it's a meditation tool, but it can be applied numerous ways. Poke fun if you will, but it's still true. many people pick up on a person w/ negative attitude and instantly give back the negative vibe, knowingly or not. I'm not a tree hugging hippy, but I am a realist.the more good vibes you put into the world, the more you get back. Just saying...
Don't worry about him, Storm. I think most of us feel ya on that. But you also have to know that there are too many people out there that take joy in negativity. They can't have you trying to take that away from 'em! I prefer to think you get as good as you give. So a lot of times the negativity is well earned.
sharebut watch how all these trolls
do the right thing and bow down before me,
I haven't really seen alot of blind faith. I think most of us are agnostic towards this movie.
shareAgreed, there really aren't but a small handful who could be called True Believers, but I couldn't name names. Saying that everyone is a Troll because they spout blind faith, well, that's just those negative nancies building their own narrative. Happens a lot. IMDB really brings it out of some.
shareTyler, I guarantee I'll be around as much after the release as I am now and my stance will not have changed. I have no problem admitting when I am wrong, but I'm not blindly following any sort of agenda or conspiracy as a Sony employee to proclaim this film to be a masterpiece.
I want this film to do well, because I want to explore Roland's world in whatever way I can and to see as much as possible. If it sucks, I won't put any more money into it - which is the only tool I have that matters (and one guy and his wife don't matter, in the grand scheme). I come to these boards because I've met some good like minded individuals, as well as some trolls and hot heads. The great thing about the honestly good people? I don't agree on every point with them, nor them me, and we can still discuss aspects of the film with civility and common sense. I don't mind being called out if I've taken something too far, but I hope people know I mean well and can take a 'hey dude, you're wrong'.
This film indirectly spoils the ending of the books (hard to explain unless you know what it is), so you might as well read them all to avoid that.
If at first you don't succeed, you're not Chuck Norris
Just my opinion, but if you're as busy as you say, I would highly recommend listening to the audio renditions of these books. Frank Mueller and George Guidall do an outstanding job of immersing the Listener into the story. They can easily be downloaded from your local library or you could actually check out the discs.
shareAlso, one final question? Is the Man in Black supposed be like the Devil or something?
shareHe is a quasi-immortal shape shifting sorcerer Demon that can dimension jump among other things. I associate him as similar to Loki due to his mischievous personality. He answers to The Crimson King so isn't as high on the 'totem pole' as 'The Devil' in our mythology.
shareCool thanks! Because I'm reading the Dark Man graphic novel and is it linked to the Dark Tower trilogy?
share