Posted in: Movies, Sony | Tagged: film, HRL, The Dark Tower, tv

Sony Surveys Moviegoers For Interest In A 'Dark Tower' TV Show

Published Tue, 08 Aug 2017 15:15:45 -0500

It seems that Sony isn't putting the cart entirely before the horse when it comes to The Dark Tower. When the television show was announced as a tie-in to the movie, no one was really surprised. The mythology behind that series is huge and impossible to tell over the course of a single movie. However, as the reviews for the movie came in, that entire plan seemed in trouble. While it did end up taking in the number one spot (barely) it only made $19.1 million its first weekend. But an interesting report has just come out of Deadline.

Apparently, people coming out of The Dark Tower were surveyed as to whether or not they would be interested in a television show. The results were that 83% of the people coming out of the movie were "definitely/probably interested in a TV series." That could mean the potential audience numbers could be 4-4.5 million. Media Rights Capital co-CEO Modi Wiczyk said:

"That is incredibly encouraging; what it shows is that there is a very big, excited audience for the show."

It turns out that whether or not someone liked the film doesn't necessarily figure into whether or not they would watch a TV show. Wiczyk continued:

"People who have seen the movie are interested in a TV series whether or not they liked the movie; even if they didn't like the movie, they were not turned off by that."

Even if a movie doesn't work, Wiczyk doesn't believe that translates to television, because "the success of the film has no correlation to whether the show will be successful or not, it has to stand on its own." The example he used was the success between Marvel movies and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., though that might not be the best example, since Marvel TV doesn't have a flawless record.

The television show, to be helmed by Glen Mazzara, is going to look at Roland's past, how he became a Gunslinger, and his first confrontation with The Man in Black. It will draw from the fourth book in the series (Wizard and Glass) and flashbacks to the first book (The Gunslinger).

If there is one thing that everyone who saw The Dark Tower can agree on — whether you liked it or not — is that the mythology was painfully underdeveloped. A television show could certain expand that and maybe even retroactively made the movie better.

Summary: The Gunslinger, Roland Deschain, roams an Old West-like landscape where "the world has moved on" in pursuit of the man in black. Also searching for the fabled Dark Tower, in the hopes that reaching it will preserve his dying world.

The Dark Tower, directed by Nikolaj Arcel, stars Idris Elba, Katheryn Winnick, Matthew McConaughey, Jackie Earl Haley, and Tom Taylor. Catch it in theaters now (or just wait for the TV series).

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!