Darabont Turned Down The Dark Tower
Posted: December 22, 2025, 14:18
_
In an interview with IndieWire Darabont get asked if King turned him down when he asked to do The Dark Tower and Darabont then reveals that it was he that turned down King’s offer.Actually, I can correct that: I actually turned Steve down. He called me once, and it’s not the only time he ever called me, but he called me once and asked me if I was interested in taking on “The Dark Tower.” I was very flattered and very honored that he asked me. But man, so much of that story is so internalized. It’s so in the heads of the characters, and it’s this massive, endless story as well. I thought, oh my god, this could be the next 10 years of my life and miss the mark, because it is a diabolically difficult thing to adapt. And at that point, I was just exhausted anyway.
And I said, “Steve, I love you… Thank you for asking, but I gotta not do this.” I would have frozen in place if I had. He was very, very kind about that and then moved on with it. A couple of years later, when we were having a conversation, I said, “So wait, what’s going on with ‘The Dark Tower’? I don’t know, I might reconsider that.” He said, “Oh, no, it’s with somebody else by now.” So you know, that may be where the he turned me down thing comes from.
What do you think, did Darabont do the right thing turning down The Dark Tower?
Oh, and Frank, if you read this please get in touch. I’d love to talk to you.
If you want to check out my interview with Frank from back in the days, you can do so here:
February 6, 2007
January 7, 2008
March 25, 2008
