From the opening lines of Stephen King's famous novel—"The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed"—The Gunslinger's protagonist is a mysterious figure. Though his background gets fleshed out in the subsequent seven-book series that make up The Dark Tower, Roland Deschain's quest begins in medias res, and the reader has a number of questions—notably, who and what is the Gunslinger, and why is he chasing this "man in black".
Though the upcoming film isn't a direct adaptation, it's likely that Idris Elba's version of the character will be equally as enigmatic. And thankfully, a new featurette detailing the upcoming film gives anyone unfamiliar with the book a little more information than readers had.
"When I started The Dark Tower, I really saw the Gunslinger as this sort of concentrated force," King says in the video. "The Dark Tower has always been really important to me, and seeing the Gunslinger come to life in film with Idris Elba is really incredible."
Matthew McConaughey will play Roland's adversary, the Man in Black, and in this feature, the actor hilariously refers to himself as the character.
"Roland is actually the only one who can bring me down," McConaughey says.
The movie opens in cinemas on 18 August.
