FILM · 2017 · USA
The Dark Tower
48 archived facts 5 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (48)
- #001
The film's first act contains several Stephen King Easter eggs: the twins from The Shining (1980), the hotel from The Shining (but in a photograph), the family from Cujo (1983) including the dog, and the car from Christine (1983), shown briefly as a toy Jake pushes in his room. Near the end there is a photo of Rita Hayworth from The Shawshank Redemption (1994). Not to mention the 'Pennywise' theme park. The portal Jake is told to remember on his way back is 1408, the title of 1408 (2007).
- #002
Roland sees a TV commercial featuring talking raccoons and asks Jake "do animals still talk around here." This is a nod to the character Oy in the books, a talking raccoon-like creature named Billy Bumbler who becomes Jake's friend.
- #003
During their final confrontation, the Man in Black taunts Roland by saying that his quest for the Tower will always return to him. This is a subtle nod to the seventh Dark Tower book, in which it is revealed that Roland has in fact reached the Tower many times and each time has been sent back to the beginning of his quest to hunt the Man in Black.
- #004
In the office of Jake's psychiatrist, Dr. Hotchkiss, there is a photograph of the Overlook Hotel from The Shining (1980), another film adapted from a Stephen King novel.
- #005
After poor test screenings, Sony spent $6 million on reshoots to help flesh out Sir Idris Elba's Gunslinger character.
- #006
Not a Direct Adaptation, but a Sequel — rather than a straightforward adaptation of The Dark Tower book series, the film is actually a continuation of the books and serves as a new cycle in Roland's journey. The presence of the Horn of Eld, which does not appear in the original story but which he carries in the film, points to this.
- #007
More references to other Stephen King books were planned, but once it became clear that resolving the copyright issues would take years, their number was reduced.
- #008
In the film the Man in Black uses both a pink sphere and a black sphere. In the novels these spheres are called Maerlyn's Grapefruit and Black Thirteen. They are part of Maerlyn's Rainbow, a group of 13 magical spheres each representing one of the Beams that hold up the Dark Tower, and Black Thirteen represents the Tower itself.
- #009
Stephen King's Dark Tower novels unite many of his other novels into a single fictional universe. Walter O'Dim, also known as the Man in Black, is later revealed to have used the alias Randall Flagg and, under that guise, to have caused the events of The Stand (1994). The fourth novel, Wizard and Glass, follows Roland and his ka-tet as they travel to the world in which The Stand takes place. The Catholic priest Father Callahan from Salem's Lot (1979) appears in the last three books of the series. The final book features Ted Brautigan, the character played by Sir Anthony Hopkins in Hearts in Atlantis (2001), and Dinky Earnshaw, the character played by Michael Flores in Everything's Eventual (2009). Another character in the final book, Patrick Danville, first appears as a toddler in the novel Insomnia. The alternate universe in which the Dark Tower novels take place is also the setting of The Talisman and its sequel Black House.
- #010
The Man in Black's ominous whistle can be heard after the credits, suggesting he may still be alive.
- #011
Before Sir Idris Elba was cast, Daniel Craig, Christian Bale, Viggo Mortensen, Javier Bardem and Mads Mikkelsen were considered for the lead role.
- #012
Variety reported that Sony and MRC spent $6 million on reshoots to fill in more backstory about the hatred Sir Idris Elba's character feels for Matthew McConaughey's Man in Black. In addition, five minutes of narration was cut so that audiences could better understand the film's magical setting of Mid-World, and a new scene was shot to connect ideas scattered throughout the film.
- #013
The Dark Tower is 182 meters/600 feet tall, stands in the eastern lands known as End-World, is surrounded by an area called Can'Ka No Rey, and is held together by six Beams that extend to the corners of the land, each guarded at both ends by twelve giant beasts.
- #014
The melody heard in the first official trailer is the same one that plays from the two pocket watches in the 1965 film For a Few Dollars More, which brought Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef together as two bounty hunters pursuing a vicious gang. They later played enemies in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966). Stephen King claims the film forms half the inspiration for The Dark Tower.
- #015
The first promotional photos reveal Easter eggs for Stephen King fans, including a store sign for "Barlow and Straker's," the villains of "Salem's Lot."
- #016
A poster for a fictional film based on The Dark Tower can be seen in David Drayton's (Thomas Jane) house in The Mist (2007). Drayton appears while painting a picture of Roland Deschain, played in this film by Sir Idris Elba. This was meant as a hint at an upcoming film related to The Dark Tower, but the film's failure delayed the project by several years.
- #017
Nicholas Hamilton plays the minor character Lucas Hanson. Hamilton also plays Henry Bowers in Stephen King's It (2017). In The Dark Tower, an abandoned theme park appears with a sign reading 'Pennywise' and a balloon statue. Pennywise is the balloon-carrying clown villain of IT.
- #018
It was initially to be adapted for film by J. J. Abrams, who followed his success with the Lost (2004) television series. After Abrams stepped back, Ron Howard stayed attached to the project until the rights went to Nikolaj Arcel.
- #019
At the end of the film, the marquee of the Globe theatre reads spaghetti week, a nod to the Clint Eastwood spaghetti westerns that inspired Stephen King when he wrote the book series.
- #020
When Abbey Lee entered talks to appear as Tirana's female lead, it caused some confusion among fans of the book series, because the character was originally written as a minor villain with very little impact on the plot and does not appear until the final book of the series.
- #021
Throughout the film, Jake is said to possess the 'Shine.' Toward the end of the film, Jake uses the 'Shine' and speaks telepathically to encourage Roland to keep fighting. In Stephen King's 'The Shining,' the characters Danny and Hallorann can likewise communicate telepathically through an ability called the 'Shine.'.
- #022
Tom Hardy was considered for the role of the Man in Black.
- #023
One of the beings or creatures that confronts Roland and Jake in the woods around and atop the ruins of Pennywise's amusement park has the ability to conceal its appearance by projecting a kind of anthropomorphic hallucination into its prey's mind, similar to what the clown Pennywise (from 'It') can do, or even to what Pennywise represents as a being, since the clown is not its truest form.
- #024
The final film was cut down to 95 minutes, far shorter than most fans expected for such a complex story. Reports indicate that a longer and more detailed version was originally planned.
- #025
The film was initially meant to lead into a TV series that expanded the Dark Tower mythology, but those plans were cancelled after the film's poor reception.
- #026
When Jake and Roland arrive at the village after Roland is injured, the door they use to travel to New York, and which they are told to remember, is number 14-08. 1408 is the title of a Stephen King short novel adapted into a film starring John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson.
- #027
For many fanatical readers of Stephen King's novels, especially The Stand and The Dark Tower series, the Man in Black is a reincarnation of the Walkin' Dude, also known as Randall Flagg. Matthew McConaughey was initially considered to play a character in Josh Boone's upcoming adaptation of The Stand (2020) and, according to reports, was to play the heroic character Stu Redman of Arnette, Texas, rather than Randall Flagg. However, since Randall/Walter/Marten can change his appearance at will through dark magic, it is possible for him to be played by more than one actor.
- #028
Matthew McConaughey was paid 1.5 million dollars for his work on the film.
- #029
Sir Idris Elba underwent extensive training in gun-throwing techniques, fast draws and live-fire exercises to prepare for the role of Roland.
- #030
On the film's official poster, in an upside-down New York, the Gunslinger and Jake Chambers appear at the feet of the image, while the Man in Black walks down a similarly upside-down street at the top of the image. This inverted, white New York skyline foreshadows the appearance of the Dark Tower.
- #031
Stephen King's notorious character appears in the last two novels of the book series, Song of Susannah and The Dark Tower.
- #032
J. J. Abrams, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, the team behind Lost (2004), were the first to buy the film rights to the novels written by Stephen King, for 19 dollars. Ultimately, their fear of bringing such a large work to the screen and their commitment to Lost (2004) meant they left the project.
- #033
J. J. Abrams initially planned to direct the adaptation before stepping away and moving on. Ron Howard later took the reins before he too departed, clearing the way for Nikolaj Arcel to come on board.
- #034
Early in the film, Jake and a friend are in his bedroom. The friend rolls a die-cast model car on the floor. The car is a red-and-white 1957 Plymouth Fury with dark-tinted windows (Christine?).
- #035
Before Sir Idris Elba was cast, Liam Neeson was said to be playing Roland Deschain.
- #036
The scale of turning eight novels into a film series required a decade-long development process.
- #037
At 1:09:13 in the film, on the door inside Jake's room, there are 4 darts in the dartboard: 4 and 15 on the right, 12 and 7 on the left, adding up to 19 and 19, the portal code of the North Central Positronics door of Mid-World.
- #038
It is the fifth highest-grossing Stephen King adaptation worldwide, after It (2017), It: Chapter Two (2019), The Green Mile (1999) and 1408 (2007).
- #039
When Ron Howard was set to direct, Aaron Paul was considered for a role. Paul was a fan favorite for the part of Eddie Dean, and he himself expressed interest in the role. Howard eventually left the project, and Eddie did not appear in the final film.
- #040
At about 1:14:17, the gunslinger places his hand on a Rita Hayworth poster; the poster is a clear reference to The Shawshank Redemption, which is based on Stephen King's short story Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption.
- #041
When Ron Howard was set to direct, Javier Bardem and Russell Crowe were expected to play Roland Deschain and Walter Padick respectively. It would have been the third collaboration between Howard and Crowe, after A Beautiful Mind (2001) and Cinderella Man (2005).
- #042
Author's Trademark: Children. Most of Stephen King's books and their TV or film adaptations feature child protagonists.
- #043
Its premiere was held at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in July 2017.
- #044
Sir Idris Elba had appeared opposite the late Anton Yelchin in Star Trek Beyond (2016) the previous year. Yelchin had appeared in Hearts in Atlantis (2001), based on a Stephen King novel connected to the Dark Tower series: Sir Anthony Hopkins's character appears in the final novel of the series and notes that Jake Chambers could easily be a "twinner" for Bobby Garfield. Elba also appeared opposite Hopkins in Thor (2011).
- #045
The walls at the threshold of Jake's room have Rorschach test images on them. This would be less interesting were it not for the presence in the film of Jackie Earle Haley, who played a Rorschach-patterned face in Watchmen (2009).
- #046
Roland Deschain is told at the New York hospital that he has chronic radiation poisoning. In Pacific Rim (2013), Sir Idris Elba's character Stacker Pentecost also has to take pills to manage radiation poisoning.
- #047
Jake Chambers and the Man in Black, Walter, meet face to face for the first time 19 minutes before the end of the film.
- #048
Universal bought the rights to the book series for 5 million dollars in 2010 but passed them on the following year due to budget concerns.
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