Casting Roland Deschain [The Dark Tower]

The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger

I’m about to stick my nose into a question that is likely to polarize readers. I know that everyone has an opinion when it comes to casting literary characters in film, so I might as well put in my two cents, right?

Lately, Ron Howard has been talking up his proposed adaptation of Stephen King’s magnum opus, The Dark Tower. Howard and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman want to adapt the seven-book series into a movie trilogy and a television series. How that will work is anyone’s guess. But if anyone is likely to pull it off, I think Howard has the Hollywood cache to do it.

Of course, the big question on everyone’s mind is who will play the pivotal role of the gunslinger, Roland Deschain. Now the New York Post is reporting that Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men) is the frontrunner for the role, with Viggo Mortensen (The Lord of the Rings trilogy) a close second.

Looking at these pictures, I have to admit that either one might be good. But I’ve always pictured Roland as an older — even ancient — gunslinger who has outlived his world. When I read the book series, my mind often turned to Clint Eastwood. But at 80 years old, I don’t think Eastwood has it in him to do a trilogy. I also think Harrison Ford might have pulled it off 20 years ago.

Now, I think Bardem is a good choice, but looking at his picture made me think of someone else whom I would like to recommend: Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

Javier Bardem (left), Viggo Mortensen, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan

He’s been a favorite of mine since seeing him in the CW television series Supernatural. I almost didn’t recognize him as The Comedian in Watchmen. And I think he’s about the right age to play a middle-aged gunslinger.

Most important of all, Morgan isn’t really well known. When we see him, we see his characters not the actor. And this is key. When bringing The Gunslinger to the big screen, it’s essential that we see Roland Deschain, not the actor playing him.

What do you think?