Last year Ron Howard came very close to bringing Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series to the screen with a unique plan that involved a movie trilogy and two TV mini-series to bridge the gaps between the films. Universal eventually bailed on the project because they perceived it as being too risky, and although Imagine Entertainment was free to shop it elsewhere, it didn’t seem likely that there would be any other takers. Then in March of this year, Warner Brothers stepped up to the plate and bought Akiva Goldsman’s script for the first film, hiring him to do a rewrite as well. They will soon be deciding whether or not to officially greenlight the film and they will also be searching for someone to play the lead role. Javier Bardem was previously attached to play Roland Deschain, but now word on the street is that he may be replaced with Russell Crowe.

According to Deadline, part of the reason that Warner Brothers was interested in the project was because they knew the TV component would be a good fit for HBO (which is also owned by Time Warner). Indeed, with the success of Game of Thrones right now, I could see The Dark Tower doing quite well there. The question is, would the movies still be able to hold their own in theatres?

Given his history with Ron Howard, Russell Crowe does make a lot of sense for the lead, and he would certainly be a much bigger draw than Javier Bardem. However, it would also be a big commitment for him, and he has been gravitating toward a lot of smaller supporting roles as of late (then again, he’s currently in the midst of starring in Darren Aronofsky’s Noah). Nothing like this has really been attempted before, and I think the use of an HBO series to help promote the movies could be hugely beneficial. However, it is definitely a risk and it’s still unclear how well a wide audience might embrace the material. Do you think this ambitious plan for adapting The Dark Tower is a good one? Is Russell Crowe a good choice for the lead role?