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

Key things

• Mike Flannigan's new adaptation of The Dark Tower must include vital prequel stories like The Fall of Gilead.
• The Fall of Gilead and the Battle of Jericho Hill explain how Roland became the last gunslinger in the Stephen King series.
• These prequel stories offer Roland's character emotional depth and essential backstory, and are essential to the television adaptation.

The popularity shows no signs of waning when it comes to horror writer adaptations Stephen King novels, short stories and short stories. So it's no surprise that many are eagerly awaiting the adaptation from acclaimed director Mike Flannigan. The Dark TowerStephen King's most prolific and acclaimed series. The story of the last gunslinger who went to the Dark Tower to stop the Crimson King from bringing down the structure that holds the entire multiverse together has long been woven into many of King's other works. Still only The Dark Tower the series directly builds on the lore and mythos that the author created all those years ago in book 1, Gunslinger. Still, there is a critical story that the first book didn't get to: The Fall of Gilead.

In the more modern adaptations of the series in the form of comics, the authors put together events from the life of the main character Roland Deschain, which led to his becoming the last gunslinger in the universe. Book four in the main series, The wizard and the glassexplores the many events leading up to that fall, including the most significant loss of Roland's young life. However, it was the fall of Gilead and the Battle of Jericho Hill that sealed his fate on the path to myth The Dark Tower. That's why Mike Flannigan's The Dark Tower the adaptation must include these vital 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 gunslingers. Descended from the line of the 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 occurred that led them to believe that evil forces were working to break the powerful beams (high-powered energy beams spread through several worlds that hold the Dark Tower).

The first book begins with Roland chasing the Man in Black, a mysterious enemy with answers to Roland's quest for the Dark Tower. Along his journey, Roland meets others who are relegated or lost in time like him. He soon forms his own group of gunslingers, training them in the use of their weapons and the combat skills he has studied throughout his life. Along the way, he encounters many enemies, from murderous talking trains and mechanized wolf soldiers to “short men” or animal hybrid humanoids with human masks. And of course there is their leader, The Crimson King, a deadly ruler who seeks nothing but oblivion.

All of the books explore elements such as the multiverse, which allows the author to draw from the various other books he has written. Book Four contains the settings found in Standwhile prominent Salem's Lot a character, Father Callahan, gets inside Wolves of Cally. Other King books also draw from dark tower series in return. For example, Ted Brautigan v Heart of Atlantis he saw Roland and his group moving towards the tower. Meantime, Black house (co-written by the late Peter Straub) not only introduced Speedy Parker Twinner Parkus as a former gunslinger, but showed that one of the Crimson King's facilities is being used to house children with the ability to telekinetically break the Dark Tower's beams.

The Fall of Gilead and the Battle of Jericho Hill

While the books cover a lot of ground with the story and mythology of the Stephen King series, there will always be fans who crave more and seek answers to lingering questions. Thanks to Marvel Comics, some of these questions have been answered. The Fall of Gilead and Battle of Jericho Hill storylines answered the question of how Roland became the last of the gunslingers, and are both epic and tragic at the same time.

After the events of the fourth book of the main series, Roland is once again saddened to discover that he has been tricked by a powerful artifact known as Maerlyn's Grapefruit. This made him think that an old enemy, Rhea of ​​Coos, had in fact returned, when in fact his mother, Gabrielle, was standing there instead. When his father discovers that his son has ended his wife's life, he also discovers a poisoned blade on her person. This leads to the realization that their enemy, John Farson, forced Gabrielle to try to end Roland's father's life. Despite the circumstances, Roland faces trial. However, he is soon released and tasked with leading the survivors away from their Gilead home when his father and the other gunslingers are ambushed and taken away 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 final battle 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 and accepts defeat. Realizing that his mission for the Dark Tower is all he has left, his people and home are destroyed once and for all.

These moments are crucial to how Roland became who he was at the beginning of the main series and why he had such a hard time letting people back into his life after losing so much in his youth. These stories add emotional depth to his character, as well as the history and mythology that these comic book prequels add to the story of Gunslingers and The Dark Tower overall. They are essential source material for the development of this series into a TV show and must be taken into account as Mike Flannigan develops the franchise.