Nikolaj Arcel’s 2017 adaptation of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower, with its deep lore and mythology, may leave some audiences with questions about the ending. Truth be told, The Dark Tower, which has recently hit Netflix, is only an adaptation of King’s books in name only; some of the story beats are the same but happen far earlier than they do in the books, while others are changed entirely from the original story. The gunslinger protagonist, Roland of Gilead (Idris Elba), is also wildly different than in the books, with his core motivation being completely different.
Those who know the backstory of The Dark Tower adaptation won’t find this surprising. The production was famously troubled, requiring multiple rewrites, reshoots, and editing compromises that come through in the finished product. The Dark Tower‘s strong cast, led by Elba and Matthew McConaughey in his first villain role, was a stellar one that most agree now was unfortunately wasted. The result is a movie that packs a lot – arguably too much – story into a speedy 95-minute runtime, and the vast amount of lore covered does require some explanation.
Mid-World & Keystone Earth Explained
They’re Part Of Stephen King’s Multiverse
In the movie, Mid-World is shown on screen while “Keystone Earth” is referenced a few times. As Roland explains to Jake, there are multiple worlds, or universes, being held together and protected by the Dark Tower. While there are many, for the purposes of The Dark Tower, only two matter: Mid-World, which is what Roland’s dying world is called, and Keystone Earth, which is Jake’s world – that is, our world, or the “real” world, so to speak.
While it’s not shown in the movie, Keystone Earth is the pivotal world in The Dark Tower, namely because it includes, in a deeply meta twist, Stephen King himself, who becomes a character in the books. It’s also pivotal because, unlike Roland’s world, Keystone Earth has not yet fallen to ruin; as Roland says in the books, his is a world “that has moved on.” It’s one of the reasons Walter is so bent on gaining a foothold in Keystone Earth; it’s easier to harvest children.
Does Jake Chambers Have The Same Shine Powers As Danny Torrance in The Shining?
It’s The Same Power By A Different Name
Those children, as The Dark Tower makes clear, are special, psychically gifted in a way that can destroy the Beams, the lines of energy that support the Tower and hold it up. Jake Chambers (Tom Taylor) was exceptionally powerful in this way, so strong that Walter knows he has the ability to bring down the Tower himself if only they can harness his powers. The Dark Tower movie refers to this power as “the Shine,” and if this sounds familiar, it should: it’s the same name given to little Danny Torrance’s powers in The Shining.
Jake’s story in the movie is changed considerably from the books. In the books, he’s a rich prep school kid who doesn’t often see his parents, and he enters Roland’s world after he dies; he does not merely step through a dormant portal like in the movie.
In the books, however, Jake’s abilities are not called the Shine, but “the Touch,” and both he and one of Roland’s old childhood friends and fellow gunslinger, Alain Johns, have the ability. In essence, though, it is the same broad psychic ability in King’s universe under a different name: mind reading, telepathic abilities, and the ability to see visions of the future and past are all part of the psychic gift. While in the books, Jake only has a bit of it and Danny Torrance’s Shining is much stronger, the Dark Tower movie presents Jake as being supercharged with the Shine.
Why Walter/The Man In Black Wants To Destroy The Dark Tower
He Is But An Agent For An Even Higher Power
When Roland and Jake are in the woods near the abandoned amusement park, Roland explains to Jake how the Dark Tower and the multiverse work, clarifying that Walter Padick, a.k.a. The Man in Black, also known as Randall Flagg, wants to tear down the Tower and thus, the protection it offers to various worlds like Mid-World and Keystone Earth, and let the darkness beyond in. However, the movie doesn’t explain why, whether it’s because it was sacrificed at the altar of runtime or was the victim of poor writing and editing. Either way, it’s a fairly important bit of exposition to skip; otherwise, Walter’s actions don’t really make much sense beyond him being a generic version of the evil bad guy.
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In reality, while Walter may be an agent of chaos all on his own and is wholly evil, as seen by his actions in The Dark Tower, he serves a higher master: the Crimson King. The Man in Black would almost certainly be sowing discord, violence, and strife for the sake of it – it’s what he does – but his larger goal of destroying the Tower is not wholly his own.
Who Is The Crimson King?
He’s The Villain Behind The Villains In Stephen King’s Universe
The Dark Tower movie references the Crimson King – “All Hail the Crimson King” is spray-painted on various surfaces near The Dixie Pig, along with his sigil, an open red eye. The movie never explains who he is or his connection to Walter, however. In Stephen King’s multiverse, the Crimson King is an evil cosmic entity who has existed since before time. He’s born of the Prim, the unnamed Darkness beyond the Dark Tower’s protection that Walter wants to let in. The Prim is the primordial void from whence the multiverse and the Tower sprang, and it, as Roland tells Jake, is full of dark entities and hungry demons.
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As the embodiment of evil and chaos in King’s multiverse, the Crimson King desires nothing more than to destroy the Tower and the multiverse in order to return it to that primordial state. He does this in opposition to his counterbalance, Gan, who is the equivalent of God or the Creator in King’s universe. Whereas Gan represents creation and light, the Crimson King represents destruction and darkness. Walter is one of the many subordinates who carries out the Crimson King’s plans, both because they align with his own desires and also because the Crimson King is a far more powerful entity, a formidable reality considering the vast powers Walter flashes in The Dark Tower.
Why Roland’s Eyes Sometimes Flash Blue Before He Shoots In The Dark Tower
It’s A Literal Manifestation Of An Element From The Books
Like many things in The Dark Tower movie adaptation, Roland’s eyes glowing an electric blue before he engages in a gunfight is a made-up effect for the movie; it’s not in the books. In the books, Roland’s eyes are described as “bombardier blue,” or a light, sky blue. They’re also described as a glowing blue, but it’s framed as being more of a metaphorical effect than a literal one. In the books, Roland has uncanny sharpshooter abilities as a gunslinger, and preternaturally good eyesight. Trickles of old magic still flow in his world, through his blood as the last gunslinger, and also through his guns themselves, fashioned from the metal of Excalibur.
The Dark Tower
movie is not so much a sprawling, dark fantasy-sci-fi Western as it is a superhero movie.
The movie adaptation overtly plays this up, turning something that is a passive part of Roland’s character in the books into a significant part of the movie. The Dark Tower movie is not so much a sprawling, dark fantasy-sci-fi Western as it is a superhero movie, from Roland’s literally glowing blue eyes to his superhuman physical feats to the soaring music that is strongly reminiscent of comic book movie scores. It makes sense, though; movies are a visual medium and subtlety doesn’t always work. Thus, when Roland’s eyes glow blue, it’s an indicator to the audience that he’s drawing upon his gunslinger abilities, focusing his mind and his will on the shot he’s about to take.
Idris Elba, Tom Taylor, Claudia Kim, and Matthew McConaughey star in The Dark Tower, a Western Sci-Fi film directed by Nikolaj Arcel. Released in 2017, The Dark Tower follows a young boy with visions of an apocalyptic future in which a powerful man, dubbed The Man in Black, lays waste to the universe. The film is based on the Stephen King book series.
- Director
- Nikolaj Arcel
- Release Date
- August 4, 2017
- Writers
- Anders Thomas Jensen , Jeff Pinkner , Nikolaj Arcel , Akiva Goldsman
- Runtime
- 95 Minutes
- Franchise(s)
- The Dark Tower
- Budget
- 66 million
