Source: Deadline | Posted By: Dan Geer

Fans of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower books were already skeptical when it was first announced that producers Ron Howard, Brian Grazer and Akiva Goldsman were working on a film/TV adaptation of the series. Not only is it incredibly ambitious to pursue filming such an epic story as The Dark Tower (let alone a trilogy along with a limited-run TV series to bridge the films together), but Howard, Grazer and Goldsman just seemed like an odd choice to helm the project in the first place. But when news broke that the project was delayed because of Universal’s desire to reduce the budget, requiring Goldsman to do script rewrites in order to accommodate the constraints, fans everywhere wondered if this already ambitious project would be severely hurt by all of it.

In a recent interview with Deadline, Howard and Grazer actually touched upon some of these issues, hoping to set the minds of fans at ease. Hit the jump for direct quotes addressing the budget constraints, delays, rewrites, and if the delays will impact actor Javier Bardem‘s role as the lead character of Roland Deschain in the project.

Regarding the budget constraints and rewrites, Grazer said:

“I’m producing it with Akiva Goldsman, who wrote it to be sensitive to cost and is rewriting it to be more so. Without putting a number on it, the cuts aren’t that deep or that radical.”

Howard talked a bit about the delays, saying that the project is now tentatively slated to start in March:

“The first version represented a bold attempt to fast track, because of weather concerns. It was a little more dramatic to people on the outside than to us. We’d have liked to move forward on that fast track, but it was always Phase One.  There was an understanding that if we couldn’t answer all the questions in a way that made sense to all the partners involved, then we would operate on a slightly more traditional timetable. Even if we go in March, that’s still moving quickly for something of this scale.”

Finally, Howard elaborated on Javier Bardem‘s role saying:

“Nobody is pay or play but he has said he wants to do it. We’ve spent a lot of time together. He’s fascinated by the character and has great instincts for Roland. I’m hoping when we go, he’s available and will join us.”

So, as of right now, while the project has not been officially green-lit, they are aiming for a start date in March and are still eying Javier Bardem for the lead role of Roland Deschain if his schedule permits (meaning he is not officially signed on yet). Ron Howard is still set to direct the first film as well as the first episode of the TV show.

If Universal is happy with the rewrites and a budget is agreed upon, my guess is that The Dark Tower will in fact happen (for better or for worse), as Universal is certainly trying very hard to get this thing going. I’m sure we’ll hear more as we draw closer to March.

Head on over to Deadline for the full article!