Stephen King Joins Mike Flanagan's Dark Tower: 'It's Happening' - IGN Fan Fest 2025

Mike Flanagan, renowned for his faithful adaptations of Stephen King's works such as *Doctor Sleep* and *Gerald's Game*, is set to bring the epic fantasy saga, *The Dark Tower*, to life with a commitment to staying true to the novels. Fans can rest assured that Flanagan's adaptation will honor the sprawling narrative of King's beloved series, especially now that Stephen King himself has joined Flanagan's creative team, known as the Ka-tet.

In an exclusive roundtable interview with IGN, conducted while promoting *The Monkey*, King was asked about his potential involvement in writing new material for Flanagan's *The Dark Tower* project, similar to his contributions to the 2020 Paramount+ limited series, *The Stand*. King responded, "All I can say is it's happening. I am writing stuff now and I think that's all I want to say because the next thing you know, I'll stir up a bunch of stuff I don't necessarily want to stir up yet. I'm in process right now, and to say too much feels like a jinx." This statement confirms King's active participation in the project, adding a layer of authenticity and excitement to the adaptation.

The Essentials: Stephen King's Dark Tower Multiverse

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*The Dark Tower* is one of Stephen King's most cherished and personal works, with the first novel, *The Gunslinger*, beginning in 1970. King's involvement in Flanagan's adaptation is a subject of great interest, especially given his past contributions, such as the epilogue he wrote for the Paramount+ series *The Stand*. This additional content helped to better conclude the storyline of Frannie Goldsmith, a character King felt was underserved in the original novel. Given the vast mythology of *The Dark Tower*, which connects to nearly all of King's fiction, there are numerous opportunities for King to enrich the narrative.

The new material King is crafting for Flanagan's adaptation is expected to seamlessly integrate, given Flanagan's promise to adhere closely to King's original text. In a 2022 interview with IGN, Flanagan emphasized that his adaptation would "look like the books" and warned against turning *The Dark Tower* into something it's not, such as *Star Wars* or *Lord of the Rings*. He stated, "It is what it is, what it is is perfect. It's just as exciting as all of those things and just as immersive. It's a story about a tiny group of people, all the odds in the whole world are against them, and they come together. As long as it's that, it'll be fine and there won't be a dry eye in the house."

This approach is particularly reassuring following the 2017 film adaptation of *The Dark Tower*, which received criticism for its deviation from the source material and for shuffling events across King's seven novels.

While the release date and format of Flanagan's *The Dark Tower* adaptation remain uncertain, fans can look forward to other Stephen King projects from Flanagan. His adaptation of King's short story, *The Life of Chuck*, is set to premiere in theaters in May, and he is also developing a Carrie series for Amazon, based on King's 1974 novel.