King's Gunslinger may be close to being cast

We reported in September that Ron Howard is moving ahead with an epic adaptation of Stephen King's fantasy yarn The Dark Tower, promising to turn the seven-novel series into three films with TV seasons bridging the movies.

Love the idea or hate it (I hate it, but that's just me being me), the project is moving forward, and the New York Post reports Javier Bardem (the villain from No Country For Old Men) is the director's top choice to play hero Roland Deschain with Viggo Mortensen a close second.

For the record, both men are excellent choices for King's Gunslinger. No matter what I think about the idea of turning King's great books into films, at least Howard and company want to assemble a top cast. And it's also good news that the cast will stick with the adaptation through all three movies and two TV seasons.

Why don't I want to see the books adapted? Easy: I'm scared Hollywood is going to fuck them up. The novels are dark, violent and spectacular stuff. It wouldn't take much to screw with them. Even with King on as a producer, this could easily turn into an epic fail.

Time will tell, and we'll keep you posted.