Back in April, Sony Pictures confirmed during their CinemaCon presentation thatproductionhad started on their highly-anticipated adaptation ofThe Dark Tower, which has been set for release on August 20, 2025. Since then, we’ve already seen a handful of set photos offering our first look at starIdris Elbaas The Gunslinger, Roland Deschain, but we haven’t seen any other characters in action, until today. As filming continues in South Africa, the first images have surfaced of Oscar winnerMatthew McConaugheyas the main villain, Randall Flagg, a.k.a. The Man in Black.
The images, which have popped up on variousTwitteraccounts, reveal thatMatthew McConaughey’s character is keeping true to his namesake in theStephen Kingnovels, clad in all black. Unfortunately, there isn’t much else we know about the scene that he’s shooting, and no other cast members were seen in these photos. The actor is seen in a city environment in the photos, but no other details about the scene have been released thus far.
These images come just a few weeks afterIdris Elbareleased a teaser image on social media, with the caption, “I am Roland, son of Steven, son of Henry, true descendant of Arthur. And I have not forgotten.” The image featured a sigil along with the phrase “Remember the face of your father,” which, in theStephen Kingnovels, signified that a character had lost his way. While the movie adaptation is certainly based on the author’s beloved book series, there has been speculation as to what books this first movie covers.
Stephen Kingrevealed last month that the story will start exactly where the book starts, with his now-iconic line “The Man in Black fled across the desert, and the Gunslinger followed.” The author also added that the story will then shift to the middle of the story. The author also teased on Twitter last month that, “The Dark Tower is close, now. The Crimson King awaits. Soon Roland will raise the Horn of Eld. And blow,” which some fans think may mean this movie isn’t actually an adaptation of the books, but a sequel to them.
Idris ElbaandMatthew McConaugheylead a cast that also includesAbbey LeeasTirana,Tom Tayloras Jake Chambers,Michael Barbierias Timmy andKatheryn Winnickin an unspecified role. There has been talk that this first movie could begin with the actual end ofThe Dark Towernovels, which would explain these changes to the story and characters that have been cast, who weren’t introduced until much later in the books.Nikolaj Arcelis directing from a script byAkiva GoldsmanandJeff Pinkner, withRon HowardandBrian Grazerproducing. While we wait for more details, take a look at these new photos from the set ofThe Dark Tower.
