Summary
- Flanagan must carefully adapt “Wizard and Glass” in Dark Tower to explain Roland’s hardened demeanor.
- Flanagan’s series likely to have 8 episodes, should dedicate two of them to the “Wizard and Glass” storyline.
- Importance of handling Wizard & Glass with care and reverence like the rest of Dark Tower series.
Now that Stephen King’s most expansive book series is getting its proper treatment, there are still some questions that need to be answered. Certainly, The Dark Tower series appears to be in perfect hands with Mike Flanagan. He’s someone who has shown the ability to offer up horror, but with a twist. And while Dark Tower isn’t as strictly horror as some of King’s other work, it offers plenty of chills and spills and thrills.
There’s a reason that Mike Flanagan knows that the way to do the Dark Tower right is to make it a series rather than a movie. Or even a trilogy, as was once planned. There is simply too much subject matter to do this quick and easy. There’s no better illustration of this than the fact that Flanagan has a real quandary ahead of him when he decides to take on one of the most important books in the series. Wizard and Glass has to be handled carefully because it shows people exactly why Roland, The Gunslinger is the way that he is. It shows his backstory and that means it needs to given as much love as possible. This can’t be handled with a few flashbacks.
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What Is Wizard And Glass To The Dark Tower?
Wizard and Glass is the fourth book in the Dark Tower series and essentially tells a story within a story. The start of the book has Roland, Eddie, Jake, Susannah and Oy camping out next to what Roland calls a Thinny where the Gunslinger tells them about his childhood and the biggest reason why he is chasing The Man In Black in the first place.
Roland’s “beginning” is at 14-years-old when he realizes that his mother is having an affair (or has been magically possesssed) by a man known as Marten Broadcloak (who is actually the Man in Black). He wants to go get a gun and kill Marten, but finds out his father knew of the affair and sends Roland and two of his friends on a quest to get him out of the way of danger.
Eventually, the three run afoul of the townspeople they are sent to meet and deal with, and have an unsuccessful run in with Marten (aka Randall Flagg aka the Man in Black aka The Wizard of Oz). The tale is a long one and is meant to tell Roland’s new friends that people who put their trust in him tend to be disappointed. However, Eddie, Susannah and Jake make it very clear that they aren’t going anywhere and are ready to continue on in their march towards the Dark Tower.
This story is an important one in explaining why, until he met his newest ka-tet that he was a loner as an adult and is a hard man. This can’t be brushed over, if Flanagan wants to do the Dark Tower adaptation correctly.
Flanagan’s Dark Tower Has To Do Wizard And Glass Justice
One of the big questions when it comes to Flanagan’s adaptation is that it’s not yet known how many episodes the series will be, nor how long the episodes will be. It would stand to reason that the run for the first season (or only?) will be about eight episodes and that those episodes will be about an hour long. There is also no concrete word that it really will only be one season. And if there are multiple seasons, that will certainly make covering Wizard and Glass that much easier.
The story of the fourth book in the Dark Tower series needs to be at least one episode. And if Flanagan is being truly honest to the story, it should be at least two episodes. The story itself is broken into two parts, with the first being Roland finding out his mother was cheating on him and going on a crusade to avenge her.
The second half of this story is about his quest with his friends, and the oddities they discover in the town they’re sent to. A great deal of the story is also about him meeting Susan and falling in love. Really the only time he falls in love in his life. That’s an important and tragic part of his character as well.
One would hope that if Flanagan is adapting this series, he knows that Wizard and Glass is as important as any other part of the Dark Tower series and treats it with the love and respect it deserves. While it will almost certainly be shortened in some regards, it can be brushed over. It needs to be handled as delicately as any other aspect like the introduction of Eddie, or Susannah or Jake. It’s not just about introducing Roland, but in a way setting the rules up for this world and why he behaves the way he does.
Stephen King
Stephen King is one of the most prolific living authors. A master of horror, King’s classic works include The Shining, Carrie, Cujo, It, and the Dark Tower series. Many of his books and short stories have been adapted to film and television, including The Shawshank Redemption, Lisey’s Story, 1408, Secret Window, and The Stand.
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