New Footage From The Dark Tower Shown At CinemaCon

03/27/2017 11:33 pm EDT

During Sony Pictures presentation at CinemaCon (Las Vegas, Nevada) on Monday night, The Dark Tower star Idris Elba appeared via video; he apologized for not being able to attend the event, but made up for his absence by introducing new footage from feature film adaptation of Stephen King's seminal work.

Our own Brandon Davis was on hand to watch the footage, which he described as "super awesome," and found time to write up a detailed description of it.

After director Nikolaj Arcel compliments Stephen King, the footage begins with Elba's character, Roland, looking over a valley. A young boy stands in the woods. A cloud shades New York City. Folks with flames run through alleyways. Man in Black throws his jacket off, Roland looks poised. He then hears voices in the woods. He draws two guns. The Man in Black questions if Roland is ready for what's coming. Roland shoots at him, but the Man in Black catches the bullets and says, "The tower will fall, Roland." The young boy wakes up in bed. He's talking to a therapist. He's drawing a man in black and sees the "Dark Tower." The therapist insists that Jake's vision isn't real, until he is startled by the room shaking. Jake knows he is supposed to do something but not sure what that is. He creeps through an abandoned house until he finds a portal to a desolate world. Roland finds him. Jake shows him a drawing. Roland is seen shooting at a mythical element. The Man in Black emerges through a portal and is seen wailing down Broadway. Roland promises that he is dangerous, then kills a man by touching his face. Action sequences are shown, including an impressive reloading sequence. Lights overtake the New York cityscape. Roland promises to kill the Man in Black. They fight. The Man in Black moves shards of glass with his mind. Later, Jake is taken to a burning village. Roland is behind Jake and tells the boy he needs to focus. Roland listens to something, hears blood drop, a wrench clangs on a wall, and then Jake is being taken. Roland calmly raises his gun and shoots into the distance where Jake has been taken into. The bullet pierces a portrait, clothes, a wall, a field, and the man trying to take the boy.

For more info, check out BD's CinemaCon recap!

The Dark Tower series tells the story of Roland Deschain, Mid-World's last gunslinger, who is traveling southeast across Mid-World's post-apocalyptic landscape, searching for the powerful but elusive magical edifice known as The Dark Tower. Located in the fey region of End-World, amid a sea of singing red roses, the Dark Tower is the nexus point of the time-space continuum. It is the heart of all worlds, but it is also under threat. Someone, or something, is using the evil technology of the Great Old Ones to destroy it.

The film stars Idris Elba (Pacific Rim, Thor: The Dark World) stars as Roland Deschain and Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club, Interstellar) as the Man in Black. The cast also includes Kathryn Winnick (Vikings), Fran Kranz (Cabin in the Woods), Abbey Lee Kershaw (Mad Max: Fury Road), Claudia Kim (Avengers: Age of Ultron), Tom Taylor (Legends), and Jackie Earle Haley (Watchmen, Preacher).

The Dark Tower film is scheduled for release on July 28, 2017.

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