Mike Flanagan Says His Dark Tower Adaptation Is King’s ‘Oil Tanker’ Priority

Mike Flanagan isn’t just circling Stephen King’s The Dark Tower anymore—he says his long-awaited adaptation is written, moving, and officially his “first priority.” And yes, he knows exactly how badly fans want it to erase memories of the 2017 film.

Speaking about the epic fantasy saga, Flanagan compared the project’s scale to an “oil tanker” and made it clear he’s steering it with one major goal in mind: giving King’s multiverse-spanning magnum opus the cinematic legacy it never got the first time around.^[1]

Flanagan wants to rewrite the Dark Tower’s screen legacy

Flanagan didn’t mince words about the 2017 Dark Tower movie, which starred Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey and limped out of theaters with a 16% Rotten Tomatoes score. “We can’t let that be the final word,” he said of the film’s reputation.^[1]

That makes his adaptation not just another King project, but something closer to a course correction. Flanagan has reportedly completed “a lot of scripts” and continues to envision The Dark Tower as a multi-season series, with the potential for film spinoffs branching off from Roland’s journey across Mid-World.^[2]

That long-form approach is a better match for the books’ sprawl. King started writing The Gunslinger back in 1970, eventually spinning the saga into eight novels that loop in and out of other works like Salem’s Lot, The Stand, and Insomnia.^[2] It’s the kind of interconnected storytelling that practically begs for prestige TV instead of a single two-hour film.

Flanagan’s track record helps. He’s already turned King deep cuts into critical darlings, and our look at Stephen King’s most intense tales of isolated terror shows just how often his stories thrive when filmmakers give them room to breathe.

Is Stephen King actually writing for the series?

One of the biggest fan questions has been whether King himself is contributing new material to the show. Earlier this year, reports suggested the author was writing for Flanagan’s scripts, thrilling readers who’ve followed Roland and the ka-tet for decades.^[3]

Then came the walk-back. In a later interview, King flatly said he is not writing for the adaptation, muddying the waters about how hands-on he’ll be with the project.^[4] What does seem clear is that Flanagan has King’s blessing and a long leash—much like on Gerald’s Game and Doctor Sleep, where he showed he can honor the text while still making bold choices.

All this comes as Flanagan’s King universe keeps expanding. His film adaptation of The Life of Chuck has already put a more intimate, metaphysical King story on screen, and our coverage of The Life of Chuck’s streaming debut underscores how quickly that one has gone from obscure novella to must-watch. He’s also wrapping a new TV take on Carrie, which he’s called “one of my favorite projects ever.”^[5]

Why book readers are watching this one closely

For King readers, The Dark Tower isn’t just another series—it’s the spine holding together a whole multiverse of small towns, haunted hotels, and apocalyptic battlefields. A faithful, sprawling adaptation could finally give fans the sense of scope they’ve always imagined, especially with a filmmaker who’s proven he can handle both cosmic horror and quiet character work.

Flanagan’s comments suggest that progress is steady, if slow, and that he sees the project as a marathon, not a sprint. If he pulls it off, this “oil tanker” of a show could become the definitive screen version of King’s grandest experiment—and maybe, at last, the version that makes non-readers pick up The Gunslinger and follow Roland to the tower.

Part of our full guide: Stephen King Adaptations in 2026: What Is Filming, What Was Cancelled and What Is Next