by: S. Scott Stanikmas – Senior Staff Writer

After a few months of speculation the next big Stephen King adaptation has finally cast its two big leads.

King himself tweeted out the news that Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey will portray The Gunslinger and the infamous Man in Black, respectively.

It’s official: The man in black fled across the desert and the gunslinger followed. #DarkTowerMovie @McConaughey @IdrisElba

— Stephen King (@StephenKing) March 1, 2016

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It was reported a while back that these two were up for these roles. Elba would be great for this (since he isn’t in the running for James Bond.) The actor has played supporting roles long enough. His leading turn in the dramatic series Luther proves he has leading man potential. And McConaughey as a vicious villain in a dystopian, sci-fi.western mash-up seems like a match made in heaven. He’s been having quite the career-making run these last few years.

The Dark Tower series follows The Gunslinger Roland Deschain as he crosses the landscape of his world searching for the cause of its destruction – Randall Flagg, the Man in Black. Flagg is actually a character that crosses over a number of King’s books and seemingly has his fingers in a lot of pies, tying many of the author’s books together as a universe.

The project, which is being helmed by director Nikolaj Arcel, is still being touted as a hybrid television / movie experience that will see the epic story cross both mediums. It is currently still penciled in to hit theaters January 13, 2017.