Stephen King talks movie adaptation of 'The Dark Tower'

NEW YORK, Oct. 3 (UPI) -- Stephen King says a movie adaptation of The Dark Tower is still in the works.

The 67-year-old author detailed the project in an interview with MTV. Director Ron Howard has been attached to adapt the book series for film and television for over four years, but King said he isn't in a rush and "content" to have the project "slow-walked."

"I love it because it's so innovative," the author said of the feature film and television series approach. "The idea of using the front story as a theatrical tent pole movies, and using the back story of when the characters are a bit younger as a TV thing. To be able to shoot both at the same time, and use these big sets for TV -- it's a very innovative idea."

King published the first Dark Tower book, The Gunslinger, in 1982, and had written seven more installments as of 2012. The series follows Roland Deschain, the last of a knightly order known as "gunslingers," as he searches for the fabled Dark Tower.

"It took me 35, 36 years to write The Dark Tower," the writer pointed out. "I can wait [for the movie]. We've been close a couple of times. I'm content to see what happens. Sooner or later, it'll show up."

King recently adapted his novella, A Good Marriage, for film, with Peter Askin as director. The movie stars Kristen Connolly and Stephen Lang, and opens in theaters Oct. 3.