It seems monumental to devote your life and career to one role for the better part of a decade. With The Dark Tower, it was bound to be someone, and according to Deadline Destry, it looks like Javier Bardem is going to be the one to say “I do” to what might be the commitment of his career.
With three planned films and two television movies, this project is unheard of, but it’s nice to see an Oscar-winning actor with such force play Roland Deschain. The deal being worked out currently will apparently cover the first film and the first television movie with options on two sequel films. The second television movie will be a prequel and, understandably, not feature Deschain at that age.
It’s still so tough to know what to make of all of this. The project is a dream come true for King and “Dark Tower” fans alike, but it’s also a skulking behemoth being directed by Ron Howard, who’s famous for being good but not great, and written by Akiva Goldsman, who’s famous for not even coming close to good.
The big question there is whether Bardem can affect that creative world. He’s not some puff player, and he’s worked with better storytellers, so there’s a chance that his inclusion in this project might shave some of the expositional excess off of the script. Bardem is about to sign away a big chunk of his life. He’d better have a say in that destiny.
I realize I’m not questioning whether he’s right for the role or not, but, frankly, it’s Javier Bardem. I don’t need to know much more than that. I have a feeling he can follow ka and be a gunslinging anti-hero better than most. I just hope they don’t give him another Dutch Boy haircut.