Idris Elba on What Brought Him to ‘The Dark Tower’ Movie

Taking on a role that has been beloved by fans for decades can be an intimidating task, but based on Idris Elba‘s recent comments about playing Roland Deschain in The Dark Tower, it’ll take a lot more than nerves to prevent him from playing such a compelling character. When speaking with Cinema Blend, Elba revealed the part was too cool to pass up, no matter how familiar fans were with the character.

“What brought me was this opportunity to make something original, something that was definitely going to be an exercise for the imagination of any audience, whether you read the books or not,” Elba confessed. “Getting to play a gunslingin’ hero, that was my main one. Outside of wanting to work with Matthew [McConaughey] and Nic [Arcel] and the Sony team, it was really about this page 1 fantastic new idea, new film, new concept, new franchise, new hero.”

Although the theatrical landscape is growing congested with remakes, adaptations, and sequels to familiar properties, The Dark Tower combines elements of fantasy, horror, and sci-fi in a unique way that has earned itself a fervent fan base following the initial publication of Stephen King’s original novels.

UP NEXT: New ‘Dark Tower’ Teaser Reveals An Abundance of Stephen King Easter Eggs

The film’s synopsis is as follows:

“The last Gunslinger, Roland Deschain (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.”

MORE NEWS: ‘The Dark Tower’ Director Explains the Film’s Short Running Time

Much like Elba, McConaughey also felt compelled to embody the Man in Black in all his evilness.

“There are franchises out there, and I’ve seen them, had some offers, and they were ones that I even liked. But I felt like they were the second or third one, and the characters I was being offered were sort of an amendment to the story, because they’d succeeded earlier,” McConaughey revealed.

He continued, “This came across my desk, and I said, ‘Oh, this is original, a chance to get in on the ground floor, to have some authorship with the character that I would go play. To get in with Idris, Nikolaj, and Sony, and the creators, and go ‘Hey, we’re gonna be the first to tell the story. We’re gonna be the first to present you The Dark Tower.”

McConaughey added, “And if it’s a success, we can come back and do another one.”

Fans will have the chance to weigh in on the film’s success when it lands in theaters this Friday.

Photo Credit: Imagine Entertainment