As happens from time to time, noted celebrities and movie stars Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey (or whoever runs their social media) are lashing out at each other yet again. It's really a shame to see such talented folks come to blows in the digital world, but at least they are handling their differences via 15-second mini Dark Tower teasers.
Silly headlines aside, Sony once again decided to drop a bit of advertising for The Dark Tower via the dueling Twitter accounts of its stars. It's a fun little running joke, especially if you presume that Elba and McConaughey are sitting around in their bathrobes lobbing cryptic tweets at each other while nursing a bowl of cereal. But the real "news" is that we are getting a theatrical trailer for The Dark Tower sometime tomorrow. You want to talk about minimalist marketing? This film comes out on August 4 of this year and we're only getting that first trailer four months out from release. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I'd rather save that conversation for tomorrow.
I am going to assume that it's similar to the trailer we saw in CinemaCon several weeks ago. While I haven't read the original source material, I am hopeful for this feature film adaptation (and it is very much an adaptation, allegedly more of a sequel than a retelling) both for fans of the Stephen King novels and because I very much want a big "new to cinemas" franchise alongside the various reboots, remakes and long-running cinematic properties.
As a novice, I'm curious how the marketing will play to someone who doesn't catch each and every Easter egg. And as for the final film, it will be interesting to see if it as hospitable to newbies as Fellowship of the Ring was back in the day. There are many things to praise about that modern classic, but among them was the introductory prologue which efficiently got everyone up to speed before jumping into the main story ("Okay, so the bad guy made an evil ring, got beaten and lost the ring, and now our hero unknowingly has possession of it as the forces of darkness begin their search, got it!").
While I feel bad for picking on Warcraft again, as I admire its "straight into the deep end" approach, I hope this film doesn't spend much of its running time explaining its world and its rules as a glorified prologue for whatever comes next. Anyway, I'm keeping this short because I want to save the rest for when the actual trailer drops. And if this marketing campaign doesn't involve Elba and McConaughey doing "The Confrontation" from Les Miserables, then Sony will have failed us all. The Dark Tower opens August 4, 2017. As always, we'll see.
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