Mike Flanagan’s The Dark Tower Needs To Develop The Gunslinger’s Tragic Past

2025 is proving to be the year of Stephen King in film and television. Adaptions of books like Carrie and The Long Walk, the short story The Monkey, and a prequel series based on the acclaimed novel It all prove that audiences are ready to dive further into the mind of the horror legend. Yet of all the adaptions in the works, the one that connects them all is The Dark Tower. Set to be adapted by Mike Flanagan, the one aspect of the series that needs special attention is the protagonist Roland’s tragic past.

At first glance, Roland is a lone gunslinger with a singular focus on his mission to protect the Dark Tower at any cost. Yet throughout the books, it becomes clear that Roland is much more complex than anyone realized. The hardened hero is a man defined by tragedy after tragedy, being manipulated into taking a fateful test at a young age, finding and losing love, being betrayed, becoming haunted by more manipulations, and finally witnessing the end of his people. For Mike Flanagan’s Dark Tower series to be adapted appropriately, they need to focus on developing The Gunslinger’s tragic past.

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The Gunslinger’s Past, Explained

From the moment thatreaders saw the words, “The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed,” the entire Stephen King fandom was introduced to Roland Deschain of Gilead. The gunslinger is the lone survivor of the Gunslingers, knights of All-World that protected the realm for centuries before they were destroyed. Before that, however, a series of betrayals and manipulations put Roland on the path of that loss.

At the age of 14, Roland was manipulated into taking the tests to become a gunslinger by his father’s advisor, Marten Broadcloak. This was an identity assumed by the agent of chaos and longtime soldier of the Crimson King, Randall Flagg. Marten has an affair with Roland’s mother, Gabrielle, and makes sure that Roland discovers this, angering the young man and making him take the test. While Marten hoped this would lead to his failure and Roland’s exile, Roland instead became the youngest to pass the test and become a Gunslinger. However, Roland’s father discovered the plot and convinced Roland to hold off seeking revenge against Marten.

Instead, he sends Roland and his friends on a mission to the Barony of Mejis, investigating possible movements of the leader of the growing army of John Farson, who the Gunslingers are at war with. While there, Roland meets and falls in love with Susan, a young woman betrothed to a local leader. He also discovers the powerful artifact, Maerlyn’s Grapefruit, a pink sphere that holds power and is part of Maeryln’s Rainbow. It shows him that his destiny to find and protect the Dark Tower, but it also begins to drain him of his life force, especially after events during their investigation lead to the loss of his true love, Susan.

Upon returning home, the grapefruit sphere manipulates Roland into believing that the witch responsible for Susan’s death, Rhea of the Coos, is in his family home. But upon ending her life, he discovers the sphere manipulated him into seeing Rhea when it was in fact his mother. Soon after, his father is among the other gunslingers slain by John Farson’s men in preparation to attack Gilead, and Roland and his allies flee, becoming the last of their people. In one final battle, Roland is the last man standing, left for dead in the Battle of Jericho Hill, before moving on with his mission for the Dark Tower.

Roland’s Story At The Heart of Mike Flanagan’s Adaption

Roland’s backstory sets up the entire journey he undergoes towards The Dark Tower. The story becomes the emotional core of who Roland is after so much loss, and explains how difficult it is for him to open up to his new group of allies, his ka-tet. Once the books continue, it also explains the choices that Roland makes throughout the series on his journey.

The series finds Roland making some of the most difficult choices any hero must make, even bordering on heartless to anyone on the outside. Suffering so much loss at such a young age has hardened Roland’s demeanor, and has made him quick to make tough choices. This causes friction early on with his new allies, especially with the young boy Jake Chambers, who was sacrificed in the first book before supernatural events brought him back into the fold a couple of books later.

Yet what his allies don’t realize is the pain that Roland carries within him. That pain becomes apparent after the fourth book in the series, Wizard and Glass. It is only through revealing his past that his allies can understand the depth of his pain, and the reasons for his actions. Despite his continued pursuit of the Dark Tower, the Gunslinger once more finds himself a family.

Bringing out this painful past and the tragedy of his life before he finds his new ka-tet is essential to the development of this series. Mike Flanagan’s work in past series like The Haunting of Hill House and Midnight Mass makes this part of Roland’s story not only feasible, but likely. The creator knows how to merge horror and fantasy elements with tearful and emotional storytelling. Roland is both a tragic figure and the hero of The Dark Tower, and including his past is essential for the series as it develops.

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Stephen King

Birthdate

September 21, 1947

Birthplace

Portland, Maine

Notable Projects

The Shining
, Cujo
, The Shawshank Redemption
, It
, Carrie