6 things everyone should know about the Dark Tower

So, is it just me or is everyone waiting with bated breath for July 38th? See-- I was so excited, I couldn’t even get the date right. TWENTY-eighth. July TWENTY-8th. The Dark Tower movie comes out on July 28th. There.

While we’re waiting with eager anticipation for the Man in Black to flee into the desert (and the gunslinger to follow,) here are a few things everyone should know about the infamous Dark Tower.

1. The DT in a Nutshell

For all the King fans out there who have read this massive, mile-long masterpiece – yeah, I know. The DT won’t fit in a nutshell. Let’s just say it’s a fantasy, western, sci-fi, adventure, with hints of horror and romance. It takes place in the present, past, and future, and a time we know not of, in worlds other than these. That sum it up? A gunslinger with his trusty band of followers from different lands and times, travels across multiple worlds on his ultimate quest to find the Dark Tower.

2. It started before you were born.

Image source.

The Dark Tower is an 8-novel series, consisting of over 1.3 million words, written over a span of 26 years. Well, 34 years if you include the Wind through the Keyhole. The first chapter of “The Gunslinger” was published in 1978, while the complete “The Gunslinger” (The first Novel in the Dark Tower series) was published in 1982.

3. The Movie ISN’T based on the book

If you’re wondering which of the 8 books the movie is based on, and whether it starts at the beginning, the answer is – neither. The movie is in fact, a sequel. It's a completely new story that none of the constant readers have yet read. (That way we won’t spoil it for anyone.) That being said, this movie sequel would put the DT series at 39 years now and running.

4. The Dark Tower transcends Space and Time

The world of the Dark Tower is much larger than any other Universe, be it the Star Wars Universe, the Marvel Universe, or any other Universe that may come to mind. In fact, the world that Dark Tower encompasses is a Multiverse. Multitudes of Universes. It isn’t just limited to the DT stories either. In fact, 32 of King’s 48 published novels (48 discluding the Dark Tower Series) reference the DT.

5. It was inspired by a 100-year old poem

Dark Tower Childe Roland Robert Browning

Image source

Robert Browning’s “Childe Roland to the Dark Tower came,” was the original source of inspiration for the series – among other things, I’m sure. In an interview with King, he says ““Browning never says what that tower is, but it’s based on an even older tradition about Childe Roland that’s lost in antiquity. Nobody knows who wrote it, and nobody knows what the Dark Tower is. So I started off wondering: What is this tower? What does it mean? And I decided that everybody keeps a Dark Tower in their heart that they want to find.”

6. The movie hasn’t even come out yet, and someone’s suing

This month (March 2017), creator of comic “The Rook,” is claiming that the Dark Tower’s lead character, Roland Deschain, was ripped off. True or not, who’s to say – but it didn’t seem to bother The Rook people for the last 35 years.

That being said, we shall now wait patiently for July 28th, and also for the time when they finally release the official Trailer! (I’ve seen it already though. :D :D The trailer, that is. )

Also, if you haven’t read the books, go do so, so we can all enjoy the movie together. Yayyy.

On that thought, here's another picture for you: