The Dark Tower is finally out and Stephen King fans are flocking to cinemas in their droves, excited for the big film! But here are 7 things you probably didn’t know about he movie… 

1.) It wasn’t always Idris Elba

Although we all know the Gunslinger as Idris Elba, he wasn’t the only one considered for the part. Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Christian Bale and Viggo Mortensen were all considered for the role.

2.) King intended the series to be ‘Tolkien meets Cowboys’

The Dark Tower author Stephen King has stated that the series was influenced by Spaghetti Western classic The Good, The Bad and The Ugly and fantasy epic The Lord of the Rings.

3.) It’s all part of Stephen King’s interconnected world

In The Dark Tower novels King connects all the characters from his other books into the same story world (a bit like Marvel). This is continued in the film, with numerous Easter Eggs referencing other Stephen along films, weaving them into one universe. For example you can see: a shop sign for ‘Barlow and Straker’s’, both being characters in Salem’s Lot; the twins from The Shining; the family and dog from Cujo; and the car from Christine. The actor Nicholas Hamilton is also both in The Dark Tower and IT, with ballons and a big sign saying Pennywise even in the trailer.

4.) J.J. Abrams nearly took it on

After having the hit Lost under his belt, Star Wars Episode VII director J.J. Abrams was planned to adapt the novels to film with Ron Howard coming in after Abrams left. It then went to Danish director Nikolaj Arcel.

5.) Sony invested extra money into the Gunslinger

Sadly after seeing bad reviews it seems that this was a waste of money, but Sony actually spent an extra $6 million on re-shoots after poor test screenings to help flesh out The Gunslinger’s character and improve the film. 

6.) The surprising female lead

Fans were confused to learn of Abbey Lee playing Tirana as the female lead, since this character was only a minor villain in the final book of the series with little to do with the plot at all.

7.) From Hardy to McConaughey

Before Oscar-winning actor Matthew McConaughey being cast as the Man in Black, Tom Hardy was originally in talks for this role.