Months after it was initially supposed to debut, Sony Pictures finally unleashed the first trailer for their highly-anticipated Stephen King adaptationThe Dark Toweryesterday, which was quite well-received by critics and fans. The release of any trailer always leads to a deeper look, with fans going frame-by-frame to discover any hidden clues or secrets. Some eagle-eyed scouts have already discoveredShining and IT Easter Eggshidden within this first look footage. Now there’s a new report claiming the trailer may have actually put to rest a popular fan theory about the movie, and how vastly different it is from the Stephen King novels.
Back in May, authorStephen Kingused Twitter to release a photo that set the Internet ablaze, featuring the Horn of Eld, which, in the original series, Roland Deschain (Idris Elba) doesn’t possess until the very end of the final book. Set photos that surfaced a few months later did show Idris Elba with this horn. Stephen King himself has also stated in the past that the movie does begin with the iconic first line of his original novel “The Man in Black fled across the desert, and the Gunslinger followed,” but he also said that the first movie would then pick up in the middle of the story instead of the beginning, which he acknowledged may upset some fans. With this Horn’s presence, many have speculated that this movie may actually take place after the entire book series, butMashabletook a deep dive through the trailer, and claims that theory may have been struck down.
Towards the end of the final book,Roland Deschaindiscovers the Horn of Eld on his belt, and in a number of set photos taken during the production, the horn was seen attached to his belt as well. After a thorough examination of the trailer, where Mashable zoomed in on every singe frame of the trailer, the Horn is never seen on his belt. Of course, even though we have seen the Horn in set photos, it isn’t known when exactly in the movie that he gets the horn, or if he has it throughout the entire movie. The theory that this movie takes place after the events portrayed in the book was bolstered further after it was revealed that Abbey Lee was cast as Tirana, a character who doesn’t surface until the final book. While the lack of the Horn may discredit this fan theory thatThe Dark Towermovie takes place after the books, there could also be a fitting explanation for why the horn is never seen throughout the trailer.
Roland is always seen carrying a satchel, which is slung over his shoulder, and its possible that, at least for some period of time,The Gunslingeris carrying the Horn of Eld in this satchel. There is in fact at least one set photo that shows this Horn sticking out of Roland’s bag, so that could be why it’s never seen in the trailer. Still, the presence of the Horn, and what it means forThe Dark Towermovie timeline, as opposed to the book timeline, still remains unclear, but we’ll find out in just a few short months.
Idris Elba’s The Gunslinger and Matthew McConaughey’sThe Man in Blacklead a diverse cast of characters including Tom Taylor as Jake Chambers, Kathryn Winnick as Laurie Chambers, Jackie Earle Haley as Sayre, Fran Kranz as Pimli, Michael Barbieri as Timmy, Claudia Kim as Arra Champignon and Nicholas Hamilton as Lucas Hanson. Nikolaj Arcel directsThe Dark Towerfrom a script he co-wrote with Akiva Goldsman, Jeff Pinkner and Anders Thomas Jensen. Sony has set an August 4 release date forThe Dark Tower, putting it up against Annapurna Pictures’Detroitand Open Road Films’Midnight Sun. In case you missed it, or want to watch it again, take a look atThe Dark Towertrailer, along with the set photo that shows the Horn of Eld in Roland’s bag.
