Some arent as fortunate.
Thenew trailer forThe Dark Towerfilmhas dropped, and it has heavy lifting to do.
This otherworldly genre-bender (and blender) of a story defies easy explanation.
Credit: Sony Pictures
Theres more to him than that, but this is a start.
Thats the upshot for the uninitiated.
But theres a lot more embedded in this trailer to unpack.
Sworn to protect us from the coming of the dark …
The dark has come.
It did not leave peacefully.
The room is shaking.
In the story, these earthquakes are puzzling scientists and city managers.
They shouldnt be happening.
Jake draws to get the visions out of his head.
But see those other figures, smaller ones, strapped to chairs?
While Jake is talking to his psychiatrist about these disturbing dreams, another quake rattles the city.
We catch a glimpse of this shelf rattling.
Also interesting is the statue beside it, a sculpture of a being blowing a horn.
This story has played out before, perhaps a bit differently this time.)
Theres a lot more to explore.
Lets step a little deeper …
Heres where worlds start to collide.
Jakes visions lead him to an abandoned home in the New York area.
This home is known as Dutch Hill, but its not at all what it comes off as.
He awakens in the desert.
A field of gravel.
A near wasteland, perhaps.
In its sky floats two moons.
We arent in Kansas anymore, Toto.
Jake immediately runs afoul of one of this strange realms dangerous inhabitants: Roland.
But Roland is no stranger to him.
Jake has seen him before, in dreams, in visions.
And he has the receipts to prove it.
In Kings books, theres something called Ka, which means fate.
And ka-tet is the group of people who share it with you.
Roland holsters his revolver and takes on care of this young visitor.
All around it radiate the blueish beams, which thread through the various worlds like ribbons from a maypole.
Shatter them, and you could collapse the tower.
But how many times can this tower take a hit?
Are we seeing visions of its possible fall, or its actual destruction?
(Seems like they wouldnt want to give that away in a trailer.)
Why does The Man in Black want to bring this thing crashing down?
Lets get into that …
So, naturally, if you bring down the prison walls, the prisoner is freed.
And the Crimson King has many followers, most of them inhuman.
Literally vampires, demons, mutants, fiends of all types.
They love our weapons of war.
But what about another reference to an iconic King monster?
Lets check out the trailers homage to Pennywise the Dancing Clown fromIt…
Consider this a postcard from a gone world.
Just how he likes it.
Where is this sentinel?
Although these places are all separate sometimes they bleed into each other.
The difference is, in the novels they could all be linked.
But in the movies … uh, film rights are a taller barrier than anything that protects the tower.
Allusions are all you are likely to get.
But Arcel promises to expect a lot of them in the margins.
The Man in Black is a perfect example of this.
He goes by many names, including Walter for those on a first-name basis with absolute evil.
Hes extremely powerful, but not as strong as the Crimson King.
Think of him as Darth Vader to the Crimson Kings Emperor.
McConaughey told EW that The Man in Black is basically bored.
Not much can kill him, but not much excites him anymore.
Jake may be the key to finally making that happen.
But his history also weaves back to the gunslingers youth.
The character mentions killing everyone who has ever walk alongside Roland.
Its a little on-the-nose, but we also get a look at Rolands father, played by Dennis Haysbert.
Its a safe wager that no good comes to her.
that blossoms suddenly in front of the boy and draws the attention of the gunslinger.
the boy dryly replies: Youre going to like Earth.
In Rolands old kingdom, a gunslinger trained relentlessly for the responsibility of carrying irons and fire lead.
Here … there arent as many questions asked.
Behind Roland is one of the villagers, played by Claudia Kim (Avengers: Age of Ultron.)
I do not aim with my hand.
He who aims with his hand has forgotten the face of his father, Roland says.
I aim with my eye.
He goes on: I do not shoot with my hand.
I shoot with my mind.
And finally: I do not kill with my gun …
I kill with my heart.
