‘The Dark Tower’ Update: Release of The Film Moved To 2017; Casting, Spoilers and Everything To Know About Stephen King’s Epic Book

The release date for "The Dark Tower," Sony's film adaptation of Stephen King's fantasy series, has been moved to summer of 2017 instead of the scheduled Feb. 17, 2017, premiere. Sony needs more time to work on the visual effects for the "The Dark Towers," which has the potential to spawn a new film franchise.

Starring Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey, "The Dark Tower" contains an intricate mythology and is being directed by Nikolaj Arcel and Ron Howard with a screenplay by Akiva Goldsman. The science fantasy horror film will focus on a gunslinger's (Elba) quest toward a mystical tower that can save his decaying world. McConaughey is cast as an evil sorcerer.

Sony wants to have more space to properly promote "The Dark Tower" whose $60M-budget is fiscally responsible in Hollywood standards. The studio does not want to rush the VFX just to make the original release date. According to Entertainment Weekly, Sony will stick to the budget to make money and stay profitable.

Principal photography on "The Dark Tower" wrapped last summer. The film's early footage has pleased Sony executives. Ron Howard was originally tapped to direct Javier Bardem for Universal, but the collaboration did not materialize due to budget concerns.

The casting of Idris Elba as Roland Deschain, "The Dark Tower's" gunslinger, has met dissent from the book series' loyal fans. Elba's inclusion changes his character's race, which is usually portrayed as white. The racial backlash that followed was reported by Daily Dot  in December 2015.

Matthew McConnaughey's Man in Black character is the chief nemesis in "The Dark Tower's" story. Man in Black is an agent of chaos who also has appeared throughout Stephen King's novels including "The Stand."

Also in the cast are Tom Baylor, Alex McGregor, Jackie Earle Haley, and Fran Kranz.