New 'The Dark Tower' Featurette Details Why It's Stephen King's 'Magnum Opus'

08/31/2017 04:17 pm EDT

Thanks to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, audiences have been conditioned to understand the concept of a "shared universe," with many seemingly disconnected films having overlapping elements that reference the events of other films. With the upcoming Stephen King adaptation The Dark Tower, fans aren't required to know all of his books to comprehend the film, but the most devout fans will have lots of treats to keep their eyes out for, as the story is considered his "magnum opus" in the featurette above.

The film's synopsis is as follows:

"The last Gunslinger, Roland Deschain (Idris Elba), has been locked in an eternal battle with Walter, also known as the Man in Black (Matthew McConaughey), determined to prevent him from toppling the Dark Tower, which holds the universe together. With the fate of the worlds at stake, good and evil will collide in the ultimate battle as only Roland can defend the Tower from the Man in Black."

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Of the mythology, the author himself reveals, "The Dark Tower's always been really important to me. It's been the one story that never really leaves me alone. I just keep coming back to it." He added, "You see these characters come to life on film, and it's really incredible."

"Dark Tower is really the corridor that connects all of Stephen King's work," producer Akiva Goldsman explained. "This is his magnum opus."

Director Nikolaj Arcel listed many of King's stories that have connections to the Dark Tower mythology, including, "Misery. The Stand. It. The Shining." We've already seen some references to these works in the trailer alone, which makes us excited to see other Easter Eggs in the finished film.

"Stephen King's Dark Tower takes you right into a place you can't even imagine," Idris Elba pointed out. "Whether you've read the books or not, you're going on a journey."

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If you're looking for more stories that combine elements from multiple Stephen King stories, next year Castle Rock will begin production for Hulu.

A psychological-horror series set in the Stephen King multi-verse, Castle Rock combines the mythological scale and intimate character storytelling of King's best-loved works, weaving an epic saga of darkness and light, played out on a few square miles of Maine woodland. The fictional Maine town of Castle Rock has figured prominently in King's literary career: Cujo, The Dark Half, IT and Needful Things, as well as novella The Body and numerous short stories such as Rita Hayworth and The Shawshank Redemptionare either set there or contain references to Castle Rock. Castle Rock is an original suspense/thriller — a first-of-its-kind re-imagining that explores the themes and worlds uniting the entire King canon, while brushing up against some of his most iconic and beloved stories.

The Dark Tower hits theaters August 4.

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