Dark Tower On-set Images Reveal Idris Elba in Costume as The Gunslinger

the clothing is too clean I picture the gunslingers clothing to be virtually patched and threadbare.

I mean, there's been a lot of controversial decision surrounding this, and some of them are most definitely intentional.

After reading the whole series it's also very dear to my heart, but I think Elba can certainly pull it off. They are certainly cashing out some of the racial tension between him and Susanna in exchange for their decision to cast Elba, but honestly how valuable is that in a movie? I'm not convinced it'll be that severe. It's clear in the books that Deschain is Caucasian, so I'll be interested to see how they adjust the story to match. I think they'll be subtle changes that won't be material.

Elba in every other regard is perfect for this role, so I commend them for taking such a huge leap.

If true about them skipping the first few books (King has said several time that he's slightly embarrassed about some of his writing in first book) then that'd be a huge mistake. The battle of Tull is one of the most memorable and sets a foundation for our understanding of how Deshain thinks, without telling us much about him.

Will keep my optimism low. This is such a huge series and I really would love something that could do it justice, but I recognize the near impossibility of staying true to the source material in the process.

looks horrible. I'm a black guy and i can only say they should've kept him white.

Someone said this in another comment, and it couldn't be more spot on:

""I think Idris Elba would be a great James Bond. However, in this case casting Roland as a black man completely breaks the established norms of Outworld, and more significantly breaks one of the most important relationships in the series, that of Roland and Odetta (later called Susannah).""

This series is going to be one of the worst book to movie adaptions in history. They are changing so much of it that it will no longer resemble the books in any way. Issue number one, don't change the freaking main characters in such a way that it completely destroys 99% of the books chemistry between them. Issue number two, don't start the movies half way through the series, essentially cutting out half the story and some amazing material. Issue number three, don't take a minor character in the last book that is only mentioned in one paragraph and plays even less of a role than an unused chair and put her in the first movie as a main villain just so you can have a sexy actress checked off on your spreadsheet.

This is my second favorite book series of all time and they've managed to F**** it up before they even started filming. I'm thinking the first film will flop. The second will do even worse and the rest will be cancelled.

I'm a huge fan of this series and have been following the development of this film since it was announced, and its clear to me that this film will only be very loosely based on King's books. I typically don't have any issue with altering a characters race for a film, in fact I think Idris Elba would be a great James Bond. However, in this case casting Roland as a black man completely breaks the established norms of Outworld, and more significantly breaks one of the most important relationships in the series, that of Roland and Odetta (later called Susannah).

This guy has like the most original first/last name combination, ever.

IDRIS. ELBA.

[Sarcasm]

The iphone wielding, freshly washed wardrobe wearing, dark-skinned Roland Deschain is exactly the way I imagined he would look when I read The Dark Towers series.

[/Sarcasm]

I SO WANT THIS MOVIE (SERIES) TO BE GREAT, but unfortunately Stephen King's book to movie adaptation have either been great hits or atrociously rotten tomatoes. (Stand By Me/ The Shawshank Redemption/The Shining/The Green Mile/The Stand/The Running Man)

Stand By Me is one of my all time favorite movies so.. maybe.. just maybe..

I remember those epic Michael Whelan covers. Looking forwards to this movie, hopefully they won't disappoint.