Deadline is reporting that Oscar-nominated actor Jackie Earle Haley (Little Children, RoboCop) has joined the cast of Sony’s adaptation of Stephen King‘s The Dark Tower, which just began filming this week! He will play vampire leader Sayre, a humanoid who fears no one.
In addition, Haley has also signed on to Amazon Studios and Sony Pictures Television‘s upcoming new The Tick series as central bad guy The Terror, leader of the evil league in the comics. Haley has previously appeared in comic book adaptations Watchmen and the upcoming series Preacher in the regular role of Odin Quincannon, which he will juggle with The Tick and Dark Tower roles.
Haley joins a Dark Tower cast that includes Idris Elba as Roland Deschain (The Gunslinger), Matthew McConaughey as Randall Flag (The Man in Black), Abbey Lee as the film’s female lead, Tirana, and Tom Taylor in the Jake Chambers role.
Director Nikolaj Arcel, who co-wrote the Swedish version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and directed the Academy Award-nominated A Royal Affair, is set to helm the big screen adaptation, set up through Sony Pictures and MRC. Academy Award winner Akiva Goldsman (A Beautiful Mind) and Jeff Pinkner (The Amazing Spider-Man 2) have written the screenplay, which is said to be based primarily on the first book in the seven-volume series. There’s also a tie-in television series in development simultaneously.
Ron Howard was initially planning to direct the first film in the series. He is now involved in producing the series through his Imagine Entertainment alongside Brian Grazer and Erica Huggins. Goldsman is also producing through Weed Road with Pinkner set to serve as executive producer.
The Dark Tower is currently set for release on January 13, 2017.
