Lost co-creator J.J. Abrams and horrormeister Stephen King are in talks to bring King's epic Dark Tower book series to either the big or small screen, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Abrams' Bad Robot company has a first-look deal at Paramount for film projects and a deal with Warner Brothers Television for TV projects; the project is not yet set up at either company.
Abrams (director of Mission: Impossible III) is currently attached to co-write and produce the proposed 11th Star Trek movie, but rumors are that he may not helm the sequel.
The trade paper quoted unnamed sources as claiming that a number of entities have been chasing Tower, but that King is looking for strong filmmaker involvement, which is where Abrams enters the picture. It is unclear whether Abrams would take on the project solely as a producer or whether he would direct as well. But King hasn't been shy about admitting that he's a huge fan of Lost; recently he participated in a roundtable for Entertainment Weekly with Abrams and Lost executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse.
Ok. If we *must* adapt the Dark Tower for the big screen/tv, we could do a lot worse than JJ and friends.
J