Stephen King Confirms Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey for The Dark Tower Adaptation

Stephen King is one of the most frequently-adapted authors alive, but fans have long been waiting for an adaptation to his epic genre-bending series The Dark Tower. Well, it finally seems to be happening, and this morning Stephen King tweeted that stars Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey are attached in the lead roles:

It's official: The man in black fled across the desert and the gunslinger followed. #DarkTowerMovie @McConaughey @IdrisElba

 — @StephenKing

Idris Elba will be playing the hero, gunslinger Roland Deschain, while McConaughey will play the villainous Man in Black.

@McConaughey you have one new follower. #DarkTowerMovie https://t.co/5fSKF02C7I

 — @idriselba

@idriselba come and get me, I look forward to it. #DarkTowerMoviehttps://twitter.com/idriselba/status/704679302781083648 ...

 — @mcconaughey

The film version of The Dark Tower will be directed and co-written by the Danish director Nikolaj Arcel. At Entertainment Weekly, King commented on the long journey the books have taken to adaptation:

“The thing is, it’s been a looong trip from the books to the film,” King says, putting it right in context: “When you think about it, I started these stories as a senior in college, sitting in a little sh-tty cabin beside the river in Maine, and finally this thing is actually in pre-production now.” He laughs. “I’m delighted, and I’m a little bit surprised.”