Stephen King is one of the most frequently adapted authors in history, with dozens of TV shows and movies taking inspiration from his work, but not every adaptation has been a hit. Movies and TV shows like Carrie, Salem’s Lot, and the recent It: Welcome to Derry have been massive hits, but others have fallen short with critics and audiences, including a massively disappointing adaptation that is about to stop streaming on Netflix.
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The Dark Tower movie is one of the worst adaptations of King’s works, and its shelf life on Netflix is about to expire. The movie, directed by Nikolaj Arcel as a loose adaptation of King’s novel series of the same name, is scheduled to stop streaming on Netflix on December 1st. The movie stars Idris Elba, Matthew McConaughey, and Tom Taylor in a story of a teenager with psychic powers and a gunslinger who team up to protect the Dark Tower, a mystical structure that holds the universe together.
What Went Wrong With The Dark Tower?
The sprawling, interconnected story of King’s magnum opus simply cannot be condensed into a single feature film, and Arcel’s movie was unfortunately proof of that. Rather than adapting a single book from the massive eight-book series, the movie attempted to pull bits and pieces from across the series, resulting in a movie that felt simultaneously overstuffed and empty. The movie had a rushed and convoluted plot that never managed to capture the unique tone of the source material, and the short runtime meant the mythology was oversimplified and there was a severe lack of proper character and world-building development.
The Dark Tower didn’t work as a standalone movie, but it also wasn’t convincing enough to warrant a sequel, the film alienating fans of the books while also failing to appeal to newcomers. The film was overwhelmingly met with negative reviews, with its 16% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes making it one of the lowest-rated King adaptations, and King himself later acknowledged that “the major challenge was to do a film based on a series of books that’s really long” and also cited the movie’s PG-13 rating as a major obstacle, as the books are extremely graphic.
Arcel’s movie remains the only current adaptation of The Dark Tower to ever hit the screen, but another adaptation is currently in the works, and it may finally do King’s work justice. Mike Flanagan is developing a multi-season TV series adaptation of the books, which should provide enough time to cover a deeper exploration of the plot and characters.
Where to Stream The Dark Tower After It Leaves Netflix?
The Dark Tower doesn’t currently stream outside of Netflix, and it seems poised to stay that way. The movie isn’t listed on any of the major streaming service’s December roundups, meaning that November 30th will be the last day to easily stream the movie before it disappears from streaming the following day. The film will still be available to rent or purchase online.
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