The plug has been pulled on The Dark Tower.
Universal Studios has passed on a previously announced ambitious plan to adapt the popular Stephen King book series into three movies and two runs of television, apparently because the studio’s new owners balked at the high cost of the project, reports Deadline.com, stating the studio gave the greenlight to the first film only.
Plans called for Ron Howard, Brian Grazer and Akiva Goldsman to executive produce the adaptation of the seven-book series, with Howard to direct the first feature, Grazer to produce and Goldsman to write. The project also brought Mark Verheiden, of Battlestar Galactica fame, to co-write the television component. Javier Bardem was attached to star.
Project was expected to be a huge visual effects production and major tentpole to rival the just-completed Harry Potter series and the Oscar-winning The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
The producers may look for another studio to pick up the project, with Warner Bros. a likely choice, the site reports.
