The first trailer for the Idris Elba-Matthew McConaughey movie “The Dark Tower” dropped on Wednesday, and fans of the beloved Stephen King book series on which it’s based were divided about what they saw.
“I actually almost teared up a little,” tweeted one fan, while others screen-grabbed shout-outs to other Stephen King projects in the trailer, including a brief glimpse of a photograph of the Overlook Hotel from “The Shining.”
But some fans took a dimmer view of the first peek at the adaptation. “Not where my imagination took me while reading the books … Looks disappointing,” wrote one.
“‘The Dark Tower’ trailer looks like a remake of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s movie ‘The Last Action Hero,’” another griped.
And some fans worried about how much the movie seems to depart from the source material — even though the trailer won praise (“awesome”) from King himself.
The Sony release, which is directed by Danish filmmaker Nikolaj Arcel, stars Idris Elba as Roland Deschain, a.k.a. The Gunslinger, a roaming knight of the Old West who resides in a parallel dimension known as Mid-World.
He crosses paths with Jake Chambers (Tom Taylor), an 11-year-old New Yorker with wanderlust who accidentally crosses over into Mid-World.
Together, the two go on a quest to save Mid-World from destruction, hoping to reach the titular Dark Tower and stop a dark sorcerer (Matthew McConaughey) from using it to control infinite worlds.
King is producing the film with Ron Howard, Brian Grazer and Akiva Goldsman, who is also sharing writing credit with Arcel, Jeff Pinkner and Anders Thomas Jensen. This is the first major piece of promotional material for the Columbia Pictures film, which has yet to release a trailer.
“The Dark Tower” arrives in theaters Aug. 4. See more fan reactions below.
https://twitter.com/jedinine/status/859762700854939648
as someone who hasn't read The Dark Tower… this trailer makes it look like a generic action/fantasy movie about boring growly men.
— Gavia Baker-Whitelaw (@Hello_Tailor) May 3, 2017
There are some questionable accents in that there The Dark Tower trailer…
— Amy West (@TV_amyy) May 3, 2017
I was…expecting more from "The Dark Tower" trailer. Muddled. Not enough Man in Black.
*runs*
*hides*
*watches "IT" trailer for 49th time*— Jason Pinter (@jasonpinter) May 3, 2017
I LOVE the first trailer for #TheDarkTower. @idriselba (AKA The Gunslinger) gives me chills! https://t.co/4qJPVp9Y2Q @DarkTowerMovie pic.twitter.com/bE32ywGJlP
— Lauren O'Callaghan (she/her) (@LaurenHollyOC) May 3, 2017
https://twitter.com/giveawayzipix/status/859762554649837568
Folks, film is a vastly different medium from print. Of course the Dark Tower films are going to deviate from the books. They have to.
— Aaron Mahnke (@amahnke) May 3, 2017
The Dark Tower: It may not follow the books but I do not care. I am so excited for this movie. I actually almost teared up a little.
— Andrea (@Adrastea275) May 3, 2017
THE DARK TOWER trailer is here. And it's awesome.https://t.co/UEQjfkuvRZ
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) May 3, 2017
https://twitter.com/yeblod/status/859737016870817792
Can't wait for the dark tower movie. But I'm disappointed , Roland should have blue eyes. It's really important. @StephenKing #TheDarkTower
— Yann Isabel (@yann_isabel) May 3, 2017
https://twitter.com/MacAwesome87/status/859758839960395776
Alright alright alright I'm gonna destroy the dark tower pic.twitter.com/TbHHRxJU1d
— Michael (@JokerCritic) May 3, 2017
How AMAZING would The Dark Tower be w/out MMcC?! As is, I don't think I could watch it. He's a dealbreaker for me.
— SupportBones (@SupportBones) May 3, 2017
Ugh. The Dark Tower trailer shows Roland reloading his revolvers in 3 different ways. Only 1 of them is good. The others are BS.
— Frank Skornia (@FSkornia) May 3, 2017
Big fan of the use of the score from For A Few Dollars More for The Dark Tower trailer.
— Marshall (@Marshall3db) May 3, 2017
https://twitter.com/MasonBlackthorn/status/859763162945638400
https://twitter.com/KeithMarksMTG/status/859762673063526401
So, they're calling The Dark Tower movie a sequel to the books because they wanted to write whatever the fuck they wanted. Got it …
— Steven A. Taylor (@TaylorHandsome) May 3, 2017
https://twitter.com/jasondashbailey/status/859762764151173121