Summary

• Mike Flanagan is taking on Stephen King's Dark Tower series for TV, marking a departure from his past miniseries streak.
• The complex, genre-bending Dark Tower books may require a minimum of eight seasons to faithfully adapt the full story to TV.
• Flanagan's vision for The Dark Tower includes five TV seasons and subsequent movie follow-ups to do justice to King's world.

Mike Flanagan is in the development stage of tackling Stephen King’s massive novel series adaptation of King’s The Life of Chuck novella. However, after The Life of Chuck, Flanagan is bringing his King adaptations to the small screen.

While the project has yet to be greenlit by a studio, it’s been confirmed that Mike Flanagan’s Gerald’s Game movie even featuring a Dark Tower nod. Consequently, the mammoth nature of The Dark Tower books means the TV adaptation will mark a first for Mike Flanagan after his past five horror series.

The Dark Tower marks Mike Flanagan's fourth Stephen King book adaptation.

The Dark Tower Show Will Have To Break Mike Flanagan's Miniseries Streak

The Dark Tower can't be a one-season show

Mike Flanagan has created, directed, and written five TV shows since 2018’s The Haunting of Hill House, with each only being a miniseries. However, he’ll have to break this streak for The Dark Tower, as its massive story and world will require far more than just one season on TV. With The Dark Tower series having eight books of storytelling from Stephen King, it would be extremely difficult to fit the tale into just one season – especially if Flanagan decided to integrate more elements from King’s related books, such as Insomnia, The Shining (which Flanagan has already worked with through Doctor Sleep), and The Stand.

The Dark Tower novels are centered around a character named Roland Deschain, who is part of a knightly order in a feudal society called the “gunslingers,” as he embarks on his quest to find the titular Dark Tower that connects all universes. Adapting the books into the TV show will take Mike Flanagan into new genres as well, as The Dark Tower is filled with fantastical elements, Western calling cards, and more sci-fi than is typically seen in Flanagan’s horror works. Therefore, the massive nature of The Dark Tower isn’t simply limited to the fact that it is separated into eight books, but also the building of the fantastical atmosphere, rules, mythology, and backstory required for the tale.

Of course, Mike Flanagan has proven himself time and again to brilliantly establish his fictional worlds’ constructions in the span of a limited series through Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, Midnight Mass, The Midnight Club, and The Fall of the House of Usher. The Dark Tower is a different beast, however, as its complexities require far more time to establish such connections and environments. With the detail that Stephen King provides in his eight books, the first Dark Tower book, The Gunslinger, could easily expand beyond just one season itself.

Therefore, the massive nature of The Dark Tower isn’t simply limited to the fact that it is separated into eight books, but also the building of the fantastical atmosphere, rules, mythology, and backstory required for the tale.

How Many Seasons The Dark Tower Would Need To Tell Stephen King's Full Story

The minimum number of seasons required is a huge commitment

With The Dark Tower series having eight books, Mike Flanagan’s show would seemingly need at least one season per novel, bringing the total to a minimum of eight seasons. That is, if he keeps the entire story on the small screen. Flanagan revealed that he would ideally like to adapt The Dark Tower into five seasons with subsequent movie follow-ups, suggesting the first five books would get their own TV season while the last three novels would receive feature films. Of course, this marks a massive commitment for Mike Flanagan, but is also necessary in order to faithfully bring King’s world to the screen.

With The Dark Tower series having eight books, Mike Flanagan’s show would seemingly need at least one season per novel, bringing the total to a minimum of eight seasons.

It’s clear that Flanagan is already planning far ahead with the longevity that tackling a story like The Dark Tower requires. Flanagan previously teased how excited he is to adapt The Dark Tower’s famous eulogy scene, which occurs very late in the overall story as it arrives in the seventh book. While it’s possible that this part of the story could be adapted into a connected movie rather than in the TV show, it seems Flanagan has at least planned to tackle several seasons of The Dark Tower, which is a massive jump from his past miniseries pursuits.

The Dark Tower Getting Multiple Seasons Can Make Up For Netflix's Mike Flanagan Mistake In 2022

The Midnight Club nearly set this record first

Regardless of whether The Dark Tower gets two seasons, five seasons and three movies, or eight seasons, it’ll stand as Mike Flanagan’s longest TV show yet. However, this isn’t the first time that Flanagan has tried to extend a show longer than a miniseries, as he had intended for The Midnight Club to continue for at least two seasons. Unfortunately, Netflix canceled The Midnight Club after one season despite largely positive reviews, coming as a huge disappointment given the potential for Flanagan to continue adapting more Christopher Pike stories. If The Dark Tower show is picked up, then Flanagan will finally get the multi-season TV show that he deserves.