Based on the Stephen King novel of the same name, The Dark Tower is set to be released on the August 4. So far, we haven’t seen much from the film, and even the two trailers didn’t give us much indication about what we’ll see in the movie. With The Dark Tower about to be released worldwide and barely any information about the film having been released, let’s take a look at seven things you should know about The Dark Tower before seeing it in theaters.

1. The Plot Of ‘The Dark Tower’

The Dark Tower follows the story of a gunslinger called Roland Deschain, played by Idris Elba, and his duty to protect the Dark Tower. The Dark Tower is a mythical structure that supports every reality in the universe. When an 11-year-old boy stumbles into Mid-World, he must help Roland reach the Dark Tower and protect the universe from extinction. However this is made increasingly difficult due to the various creatures in Mid-World, as well as Roland’s nemesis Walter O’Dim, a.k.a the Man in Black (Matthew McConaughey).

2. Expect To See Plenty More ‘The Dark Tower’ After This Movie

If The Dark Tower goes well, we’ll be sure to see various sequels on every platform in the coming years. There are talks of integrating the winding story into a  series, as well as the big screen. This means we can have the important installments in cinema, while the TV-verse connects the dots.

3. ‘The Dark Tower’ Is A Mix Of Multiple Genres

One of the most interesting things about The Dark Tower is how it integrates various genres together to make one cohesive story. The genres of the film include dark, sci-fi, western and horror, which could be compared to the hit  show Westworld. The world outside Earth — known as Mid-World — gives the show a real sci-fi vibe, and when you match that with Stephen King’s knack for horror (IT, The Shining) then you’ve got a really good mix of genres.

4. ‘The Dark Tower’ Has An Amazing Cast

‘The Dark Tower’ [Credit: Columbia Pictures]

One of the best things about The Dark Tower is its excellent cast, especially the two leads, Matthew McConaughey and Idris Elba. It’s going to be very interesting seeing Matthew McConaughey in a sinister, villain role which we’re totally not used to. McConaughey plays the infamous Man in Black who seeks to foil the plans of the gunslinger (Idris Elba)

This film is also director Nikolaj Arcel’s biggest budget movie to date, having never made a major blockbuster prior to this. Arcel’s previous movies include A Royal Affair, Truth About Men and Island of Lost Souls.

5. Expect To See Multiple Stephen King References In ‘The Dark Tower’

Stephen King is one of the best  writers ever, and we can expect to see some of his other works referenced in The Dark Tower. From the first trailer, we’ve already seen Easter Eggs from both The Shining and IT! Does this mean that The Dark Tower is building up to a shared universe with the rest of Stephen King’s work? Maybe, but we’ll have to wait and see.

6. ‘The Dark Tower’ Has Been In Production For 10 Years

Nowadays in Hollywood, studios are rushing to create expanded universes because that’s where the money and excitement lies right now. However, The Dark Tower has taken its time to be released. The sci-fi fantasy has been in production since 2007, and has gone through three directors (J.J. Abrams, Ron Howard and now Nicolaj Arcel). However it finally seems that they’ve found the right formula, and the film is finally being released after all these years.

7. It’s A Very Short Film

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Most Hollywood blockbusters these days are fairly lengthy, coming in around the two hour mark. Interestingly, The Dark Tower runs at a strangely short 1 hour, 35 minutes. This is interesting because it’s a new story with a new world that needs to be built, all while establishing villains and sub-plots. Whether this means we’ll get a cliffhanger ending, I’m not sure. Then again a cliffhanger would make sense, given the fact they’re paving the way for multiple sequels and possible TV spin-offs. 

In a way it’s really good that the studio hasn’t showed much footage for The Dark Tower, as it means there will be more surprises when viewers actually go to watch the movie. This film really has the potential to be one of the biggest surprise hits of the summer and long-time Stephen King fans will be stoked to see where the franchise goes!

source: https://moviepilot.com/p/the-dark-tower-things-to-know-before-watching-the-movie/4336200