10 Cinematic Universes That Failed To Happen
3. The Dark Tower
Easily the most ill-conceived cinematic universe attempt of all time, The Dark Tower is utterly baffling. The plan was simple: mine Stephen King’s endless treasure trove of Dark Tower stories to make a seemingly never-ending series of movies and television shows.
The problem? Sony made the unbelievably odd decision to make a sequel to the books before adapting the first entry, meaning anyone that went to see the movie would have a hard time following along since they’re missing over five books worth of backstory. Not the greatest way to start your big shared universe.
This confusing move only hindered the movie. When it opened in 2017, The Dark Tower flopped harder than a fish out of water and failed to impress critics, who found it to be boring and incomprehensible (unsurprisingly). Looking at Sony’s disastrous plan, it’s easy to see this coming from a mile away. Of course, the plans for the future were scrapped and never spoken of again.
What is crazy about The Dark Tower is Sony’s barefaced hubris. Essentially expecting viewers to do homework before they enter the theatre and if they don’t, too bad. Perhaps it’s for the best that this one tanked.