Director/producer Howard and producer/scriptwriter Akiva Goldsman have been shopping the the mammoth project around Hollywood ever since Universal dropped it. Now Deadline reports that, “Warner Bros is very close to a deal that will give Ron Howard the chance to direct at least the first feature, potentially with Javier Bardem starring as gunslinger Roland Deschain. And Akiva Goldsman (who wrote the script) is producing with Brian Grazer and the author.”
Apparently Warners has already hired Goldsman to polish up the script (which may just be jargon for “make it cheaper”).
Brian Grazer has already indicated in earlier interviews that the TV component of the project – two series that would broadcast between the movies – could find a home at HBO.
“We’re going to do The Dark Tower with HBO,” the producer told MTV in October last year , adding, “We’ve lost $45 million out of the budget [of the movie]. When people say no to you enough, then you have to lose money, which we’ve done without harming the scope of the film.”
