About five months ago, The Dark Tower found a new home at Warner Bros.  Originally, the massive project was being developed at Universal Pictures with Howard set to direct, Akiva Goldsman writing, and Brian Grazer producing through Imagine Entertainment, along with King himself acting as producer.  Then, the sheer cost and riskiness of the endeavor caused the studio to waffle, after which the creative team attempted to rewrite the first screenplay for a lower budget, but to no avail.

After the adaptation was put in turnaround at Universal, the team didn't abandon the plan, despite moving on to other films, such as the Formula 1 racing drama Rush starring Chris Hemsworth, which Howard is editing now.

Five months ago, Warner Bros. bought Goldsman's script and set about putting together The Dark Tower.  Goldsman has been toiling away rewriting the first film in this would-be trilogy, and according to Deadline, he's turning in a new draft to Warner Bros. which will allow the studio to decide whether it wants to pull the trigger on the project in the next two weeks.

Crowe is a new part of the equation.  He's not formally signed on the film, but he's the guy if Warner Bros. opts to go ahead. He would play Deschain, the only surviving member of an ancient order of gunslinging knights who spends his days wandering the unique postapocalyptic landscape that mixes fantasy tropes and a distinctly Western feel. 

He's currently shooting the starring role in Darren Aronofsky's Old Testament epic Noah, and he shows up as Jor-El in next summer's Superman reboot Man of Steel for the WB.  He's also set to play Pearly Soames in the studio's adaptation of Winter's Tale by Mark Helperin, which will be the directorial debut of Goldsman, the writer of Batman & Robin and Lost in Space.

The Gladiator star not the first actor associated with the role of Roland.  When The Dark Tower had all kinds of apparent momentum at Universal, Howard and company selected Javier Bardem to play Roland, but the hiccups in getting this film into production meant that he vacated the role, what with his busy schedule and all.

If the first movie gets the go-ahead, it would be the first in a one-of-its-kind adaptation.  The plan that Howard, Goldsman, and Grazer hatched up for The Dark Tower involves the motion picture trilogy, as well as two seasons of a television series.  That show, likely to air on HBO, would have Crowe playing Deschain in the first season, a bridge between the first and second films, while the second season would be a prequel with a different, younger cast.  In the Universal days, Battlestar Galactica producer Mark Verheiden was hired to oversee the television component, but his continued involvement is a mystery for now.

Stay tuned to discover the fate of The Dark Tower at Warner Bros.