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Dark Tower Author Says Changes in the Film Might "Upset" Fans

"It is the story."

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The long-awaited film adaptation of Stephen King's fantasy classic The Dark Tower is finally in production. Earlier this week, on-set images of star Idris Elba were revealed, and now King himself has spoken about what fans can expect from the movie.

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While the author does suggest that the book's famous opening lines will kick off the film, audiences should expect a few changes along the way. "I expect that the movie will start where the books start," he told the EW Podcast. "Y'know, 'The man in black fled across the desert, and the Gunslinger followed.' I think that nails it right in place for people. I've been pretty insistent on that, and I think everyone's onboard with it."

However, King went on to explain that from that point, the movie will deviate from the book. He stated: "It starts sort of in medias res, in the middle of the story, instead of at the beginning, which may upset some of the fans a little bit. But they will get behind it, because it is the story."

Whether or not King means the middle of the first part of the eight-book series, or during the events of a later book, is unknown. However, BMD suggests that the latter might be true, as previous casting announcements have included characters that don't appear until further on in the series.

The movie stars Elba as gunslinger Roland Deschain, while Matthew McConaughey will play Walter Padick, aka the Man in Black, the demonic sorcerer who is the story's central villain. It is directed by Nikolaj Arcel, who previously helmed the Oscar-nominated A Royal Affair.

The Dark Tower encompasses eight novels, written between 1982 and 2012. The books blend classic western themes with horror, sci-fi, and fantasy.

The film is set to be released on February 23, 2017, and there are plans for this movie to be the first of an ongoing franchise.

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