The rumor mill is churning again and this time the word is that Russell Crowe is in line to take over the role of gunslinger from Javier Bardem – this is going to cause right old ruckus among the fans. This new twist seems in part related to Warner Bros’ decision on whether or not they’ll continue their involvement with the Dark Tower movies.
From the perspective of Warner Bros however, I can see that this makes a lot of sense. Crowe is a much higher profile actor than Javier Bardem, and there’s no doubt that he has the chops and versatility to pull off a role like this. Over at Deadline, Mike believes that in the next couple of weeks the studio will be making the decision to stay or walk. If they’re keen to have him on board then the talks between Crowe, Ron Howard and producers Brian Grazer and Akiva Goldsman, will be key.
Is Russell Crowe a suitable Gunslinger?
You only have to read the comments on this blog to know how split the fans are over the choice of Javier Bardem being cast as the Gunslinger, and it’s unlikely this new announcement will help much in uniting them. We’d be hard pushed to say that Russell Crowe isn’t a damn fine actor, but if you ask me, he does seem a little more John Wayne than Clint Eastwood.
Still, I for one can think of worse decisions than to cast either Javier Bardem or Russell Crowe in the role of Roland of Gilead.
What’s Ahead?
Casting choices aside, if the information that Warner will be making their decision in the next two weeks is correct, then we have hope. If they give the green light then filming could start as early as Spring 2013.
Three films and two TV series is such a big commitment for any studio, so if Warner Bros decides to walk like Universal did, then it could be several more years before another studio steps in.
Perhaps before the month is out we’ll know if the Dark Tower movies will be released this decade or not.
(Image from IMDB of 3:10 to Yuma movie / Deadline article here.)
