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

Mike Flanagan's commitment to faithfully adapting Stephen King's epic fantasy saga, The Dark Tower, has been bolstered by a significant development. Known for his successful adaptations of King's works such as Doctor Sleep and Gerald's Game, Flanagan has now enlisted the author himself into his creative team, or "Ka-tet," as they embark on this ambitious project.

In an exclusive interview with IGN, Stephen King confirmed his active involvement in the project, stating, "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 revelation promises that King's new material will be seamlessly integrated into Flanagan's adaptation, enhancing the authenticity of the series.

The Essentials: Stephen King's Dark Tower Multiverse

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The Dark Tower stands as one of King's most cherished and personal projects, with the first novel, The Gunslinger, beginning its journey in 1970. The series spans nearly all of King's fictional universe, presenting a vast canvas for King's involvement. His past contributions, such as the epilogue to the Paramount+ series The Stand, which provided closure to Frannie Goldsmith's storyline, hint at the potential depth King could add to The Dark Tower.

Flanagan's dedication to maintaining the integrity of King's narrative is evident in his previous statements to IGN, where he emphasized, "it would look like the books" and warned against transforming The Dark Tower into something akin to Star Wars or The Lord of the Rings. He reiterated the essence of the story, saying, "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 a stark contrast to the 2017 film adaptation of The Dark Tower, which received criticism for its disjointed narrative drawn from various parts of King's seven novels.

While the exact timeline and format of Flanagan's The Dark Tower adaptation remain uncertain, fans can look forward to other 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.