Mike Flannigan's Dark Tower adaptation must include this important prequel story

Important takeaways

• A new adaptation of The Dark Tower by Mike Flannigan must include important prequel stories such as the fall of Gilead.
• The fall of Gilead and the Battle of Jericho Hill explain how Roland became the last gunslinger in Stephen King's series.
• These prequel stories offer emotional depth and crucial backstory to Roland's character and are essential to the television adaptation.

The popularity shows no sign of abating when it comes to adaptations of horror authors Stephen Kings novels, short stories and short stories. So it's no surprise that many are eagerly anticipating acclaimed director Mike Flannigan's adaptation of The Dark TowerStephen King's most prolific and acclaimed series. The story of the last gunslinger who makes it to The Dark Tower to stop the Crimson King from toppling the structure that holds the entire multiverse together has long infused itself into many of King's other works. Still only The Dark Tower the series has directly tied into the lore and mythos that the author created all those years ago in book 1, Gunslinger. Still, there is one critical story that the first book didn't get to: the fall of Gilead.

In more modern adaptations of the series in comic book form, writers have pieced together the events in protagonist Roland Deschain's life that lead to him becoming the last gunslinger in the universe. Book four in the main series, Wizard and glassexplores many events leading up to this fall, including the most significant loss of Roland's young life. But it was the fall of Gilead and the Battle of Jericho Hill that sealed his fate by traveling to the saga Dark tower. That's why Mike Flannigan's Dark tower adaptation must include these important prequel stories.

The Dark Tower, Explained

Long considered Stephen King's magnum opus, The Dark Tower The series follows Roland Deschain, the last of the gunsmiths. Descending from the Line of Eld (this universe's version of King Arthur), Roland decides to follow his people's final mission: to protect and secure the iconic Dark Tower. Events have occurred that lead them to believe that evil forces are working to break the powerful beams (high-powered energy beams spread through multiple worlds that hold up the Dark Tower).

The first book begins with Roland chasing the Man in Black, a mysterious enemy with answers to Roland's hunt for the Dark Tower. Along his journey, Roland meets others who are displaced or lost in time like him. He soon forms his own band of gunslingers, training them in the use of their weapons and the fighting skills he spent his entire life studying. They encounter many enemies on their journey, from murderous talking trains and mechanized wolf soldiers to “low men” or animal hybrid humanoids wearing human masks. And of course there is their leader, The Crimson King, a mortal ruler who seeks nothing but oblivion.

The books all explore elements like the multiverse, allowing the author to draw from various other books he has written. Book four contains settings found in The placewhile prominent Salem's Lot character Father Callahan gets into Calla's Wolves. King's other books also draw from the dark tower series in return. For example Ted Brautigan in Hearts of Atlantis saw Roland and his group moving towards the tower. In the meantime, The Black House (co-written by the late Peter Straub) not only introduced Speedy Parker's Twinner Parkus as a former gunslinger, but revealed that one of the Crimson King's facilities was used to house children with the ability to telekinetically break the Dark Tower beams.

The Fall of Gilead and the Battle of Jericho Hill

While the books cover a lot of ground with the backstory and mythology of Stephen King's series, there will always be fans eager for more and seeking answers to lingering questions. Thanks to Marvel Comics, some of these questions were answered. The storylines Fall of Gilead and Battle of Jericho Hill answered the question of how Roland became the last of the gunslingers, and it is both epic and tragic at the same time.

After the events of book four of the main series, Roland is once again saddened when he discovers that he was tricked by a powerful artifact known as Maerlyn's Grapefruit. This led him to believe that an old enemy, Rhea of ​​the Coos, had actually returned, when in fact it was his mother, Gabrielle, standing there instead. When his father discovers that his son has ended his wife's life, he also discovers a poisoned leaf on her person. This leads to the realization that their enemy, John Farson, had forced Gabrielle to try to end Roland's father's life. Despite the circumstances, Roland stands trial. However, he is soon released and tasked with leading the survivors away from their home of Gilead when his father and the other gunslingers are ambushed and taken out by Farson's army.

The Battle of Jericho Hill takes place a few years later, after a series of attacks led by Roland and the last remaining gunslingers ends in a brutal finale on the infamous Jericho Hill. As his friends and allies fall one by one beside him, Roland is shot and left for dead. But soon after Farson's men leave, he stands up and accepts defeat. He realizes that his quest for the Dark Tower is the only thing left for him to do, his people and home destroyed once and for all.

These moments are crucial to how Roland got to who he was at the beginning of the main series, and why he's had such a hard time letting people back into his life after losing so much as a young man. These stories add emotional depth to his character, as well as the history and mythology that these comic prequels bring to the story of the Gunslingers and Dark tower total. They are crucial source material for developing this series into a television show, and must be taken into account as Mike Flannigan develops the franchise.