Stephen King’s The Dark Tower Leaving Netflix Ahead of Mike Flanagan’s Reboot Series

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Nikolaj Arcel’s sci-fi Western, adapted from Stephen King’s book series, is leaving Netflix soon. Viewers have limited time left to watch it.

According to What’s on Netflix, the movie The Dark Tower will no longer be available on the streaming service after December 1st. It’s one of many titles leaving Netflix at the beginning of the month. The film features Idris Elba as Roland Deschain and Matthew McConaughey as his enemy, Walter Padick, with Tom Taylor playing Jake Chambers, Roland’s apprentice. While intended as the first installment in a larger franchise, The Dark Tower didn’t perform well in theaters and received poor reviews, effectively ending plans for future installments.

The movie The Dark Tower drew inspiration from many of Stephen King’s works, particularly the first and third books in the series. However, it also tried to add its own continuation to the story. This approach left fans of the books feeling let down, as it didn’t quite capture the essence of the source material. Even for viewers unfamiliar with King’s novels, the film’s plot felt weak and underdeveloped.

The movie centers on Idris Elba as the last of a dying breed – a Gunslinger – who is locked in an endless fight with a shadowy figure known as the Man in Black. He must prevent the Man in Black from destroying the Dark Tower, and in doing so, save the world. This dramatic showdown between good and evil unfolds across two visually distinct settings: present-day New York City and a fantastical, Old West-inspired alternate reality called Mid-World.

Despite having a promising mix of fantasy and Western themes, and starring popular actors like Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey, the movie The Dark Tower didn’t impress most viewers. Critics gave it a very low rating of just 16% on Rotten Tomatoes, and audiences largely agreed, with an approval rating of only 44% based on over 25,000 reviews.

Many critics disliked how the movie tried to fit so much of the book series into just 95 minutes. While acknowledging some good points, like the action sequences, reviews were generally mixed. The film only earned a little over $113 million worldwide, which was disappointing given its $66 million production cost.

Mike Flanagan Has Big Plans for a Multi-Season Adaptation of The Dark Tower

The 2017 movie version of The Dark Tower wasn’t very successful, but someone else is trying to adapt Stephen King’s story. In December 2022, Mike Flanagan announced he’d obtained the rights to create The Dark Tower as a television series, intending to release it over multiple seasons.

Since then, we haven’t learned many specifics about Mike Flanagan’s plans for The Dark Tower adaptation. However, Stephen King recently confirmed that it’s still in development. Adapting the series will be a big undertaking for Flanagan, particularly because the books are closely linked to many of King’s other works, like It, ‘Salem’s Lot, and The Shining.

2017’s film adaptation of The Dark Tower leaves Netflix on Dec. 1.

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2025-11-16 17:37