Stephen King says he isn’t writing for Mike Flanagan’s Dark Tower series
Stephen King is not writing for Mike Flanagan’s anticipated Dark Tower series, after all. “Contrary to the Internet (which usually is never wrong), I am NOT writing for Mike Flanagan’s DARK TOWER,” the author posted on Bluesky Monday afternoon.
On Monday morning, IGN reported that King would be working with Flanagan on the upcoming TV series, and would even be writing new material outside of what’s been established in the books. Per IGN, when asked about his interest in contributing to the adaptation, King said: “All I can say is it’s happening. I am writing stuff now and I think that’s all I want to say because the next thing you know, I’ll stir up a bunch of stuff I don’t necessarily want to stir up yet. I’m in process right now, and to say too much feels like a jinx.”
This wouldn’t have been the first time King contributed new material to adaptations of his works. He wrote a new ending for 2020’s The Stand miniseries, which was generally received as an improvement on the book’s original conclusion. Given the sprawling and cyclical nature of the Dark Tower book series, there would be ample room for King to tweak the story elements without diluting what fans love about the books.
However, it appears this isn’t what’s in the cards for The Dark Tower adaptation — though it remains unclear what King was referring to when he told IGN “I am writing stuff now.”
Even without King’s direct involvement, there are still plenty of reasons to be excited about the Dark Tower series. Flanagan has repeatedly proven to be a deft shepherd in bringing King’s works to screen, as evidenced by his acclaimed adaptations of Gerald’s Game and Doctor Sleep. In addition to the upcoming Dark Tower series, Flanagan has two more King adaptations in the works: a film adaptation of The Life of Chuck coming this May, and a Carrie TV series in development at Amazon.
Update (Feb 24): King took to Bluesky to refute an earlier claim that he was writing for the Dark Tower series. We’ve updated this story to reflect that statement.
