Stephen King Confirms Writing for Mike Flanagan's Dark Tower: 'It's Happening' - IGN Fan Fest 2025

Mike Flanagan has set the stage for an ambitious and faithful adaptation of Stephen King's epic fantasy saga, The Dark Tower. Known for his successful interpretations of King's works in films like Doctor Sleep and Gerald's Game, Flanagan's commitment to staying true to the novels is reinforced by a significant development: Stephen King himself is actively contributing new material to the project. In an exclusive interview with IGN during the promotion of The Monkey, King confirmed his involvement, saying, "All I can say is it's happening. I am writing stuff now and I think that's all I want to say because the next thing you know, I'll stir up a bunch of stuff I don't necessarily want to stir up yet. I'm in process right now, and to say too much feels like a jinx."

The Essentials: Stephen King's Dark Tower Multiverse

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The Dark Tower series, which King began writing in 1970 with The Gunslinger, is one of his most celebrated and personal works. The involvement of King in Flanagan's adaptation opens up exciting possibilities, especially given his previous contributions to adaptations like the Paramount+ series The Stand, where he added an epilogue to better conclude the story of Frannie Goldsmith. Given the vast and interconnected nature of The Dark Tower, which weaves through nearly all of King's fiction, the potential for new material to enhance the narrative is immense.

Flanagan's dedication to preserving the essence of King's work is evident in his promise to keep the adaptation closely aligned with the novels. In a 2022 interview with IGN, Flanagan stated, "it would look like the books" and emphasized that "the way not to do The Dark Tower is to try to turn it into something else, to try to make it Star Wars or make it Lord of the Rings." He further elaborated, "It is what it is, what it is is perfect. It's just as exciting as all of those things and just as immersive. It's a story about a tiny group of people, all the odds in the whole world are against them, and they come together. As long as it's that, it'll be fine and there won't be a dry eye in the house."

This approach is particularly reassuring after the 2017 The Dark Tower film, which received criticism for its deviation from the source material. While the exact release date and format of Flanagan's adaptation remain undisclosed, fans can look forward to other King-related projects from Flanagan. His adaptation of King's short story The Life of Chuck is set to premiere in theaters in May, and he is also developing a Carrie series for Amazon, based on King's 1974 novel.