One of Stephen King’s greatest collaborators had a chance to make one of his most wanted adaptations, and he has revealed that he turned down the opportunity. More movies and TV shows have been made based on King’s work than almost any other author in history. In 2025 alone, there were four major movie releases and two TV shows based on his work. This included adaptations of The Monkey, The Long Walk, Life of Chuck, The Running Man, Welcome to Derry, and The Institute. However, there is one King property that fans have been begging for that was adapted as a previous movie that fans instantly rejected.
Videos by ComicBook.com
It turns out that frequent King collaborator Frank Darabont was offered the chance to direct The Dark Tower. However, Darabont told IndieWire that he rejected the offer to adapt the story when Stephen King called him personally and asked if he was interested.
Frank Darabont Rejects Chance to Direct The Dark Tower
Frank Darabont has been mostly retired for the last 10 years, but he agreed to come out of retirement to direct two episodes of the final season of Stranger Things. He admitted that the only thing that would bring him out of retirement would be to make something he adored, and that is why he returned for this opportunity. However, Darabont also took the time to offer a rumor-buster about why he never directed The Dark Tower.
According to a rumor that has been passed off as fact in several stories, Stephen King rejected Frank Darabont from making The Dark Tower. When the interviewer mentioned that Stephen King turned down Darabont, the director corrected them and said, “I actually turned Steve down.” Darabont said that King had called him more than once, but on this occasion, he asked if Darabont was interested in making The Dark Tower. However, Darabont had a very good reason why he felt this was not a good idea.
“I was very flattered and very honored that he asked me. But man, so much of that story is so internalized. It’s so in the heads of the characters, and it’s this massive, endless story as well,” Darabont said. “I thought, oh my god, this could be the next 10 years of my life and miss the mark, because it is a diabolically difficult thing to adapt. And at that point, I was just exhausted anyway.”
Darabont then said he told King that he loved him and thanked him for asking, but then he rejected the offer. Darabont then said they talked a couple of years later, and he asked King what was going on with The Dark Tower, and King said it was with someone else now. He admitted that might be where the idea King rejected him came from.
Fran Darabont Remains One Of Stephen King’s Best Collaborators
Frank Darabont got his start working with Stephen King long before anyone ever heard of the director. In 1979, Darabont became the second known Dollar Baby filmmaker, following Jeff Schiro, who directed The Boogeyman. Darabont directed a short called The Woman in the Room, and King loved it so much that he offered to give Darabont the option to direct Rita Hayworth and The Shawshank Redemption. Darabont got the financing together for that, and it remains one of the best King movies ever made.
Stephen King then offered Darabont the chance to adapt The Green Mile before he ever started releasing it as a six-volume series. Darabont accepted this, and it went on to become an Oscar success. Darabont had one more King adaptation to make in The Mist, a movie that changed the ending to such a dark moment that King applauded it, saying every generation needs a movie that ends on a down note like this.
Another Stephen King collaborator is now working on The Dark Tower, as Mike Flanagan might have a very successful plan to bring it to the small screen. Flanagan has directed Doctor Sleep, Gerald’s Game, and The Life of Chuck, and non-King streaming shows like The Haunting of Hill House and The Midnight Mass. He also has the upcoming streaming series adaptation of Carrie on the way.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
Most Viewed
-
A screenshot from Fatal Fury: King of Fighters, showing a match. -
Image Courtesy of ABC
