Mike Flanagan’s The Dark Tower adaptation is an ambitious project whose success depends on giving Stephen King’s fantasy series room to unfold. This article considers how the show could preserve the novels’ pacing, using The Expanse and One Piece as examples of adaptations structured around their source material. The central consideration is pacing.

Mike Flanagan is developing a new universe with Prime Video based on King’s monumental series. The Dark Tower spans seven main books and follows Roland Deschain, a gunslinger in a post-apocalyptic fantasy Western world, as he tries to reach the Tower, a pinnacle connecting all realities. Roland travels with his ka-tet, a group drawn from different worlds and times, and the books position the Tower as connective tissue between many of Stephen King’s stories.

The series’ scope extends beyond its seven main books: an eighth book takes place in the middle of the tale, and other King stories, including The Stand, ‘Salem’s Lot and Hearts in Atlantis, connect directly to it. Flanagan’s Carrie TV show could also be understood as one level of the Tower, or a world within the larger fictional universe. That breadth makes pacing and structure central to adapting the story faithfully.

How can The Dark Tower adaptation match the books’ pacing?

The Dark Tower adaptation needs to preserve the novels’ deliberate pacing, including long flashbacks, multidimensional journeys and substantial character development. Flanagan has said he has a multiseason plan for the books, but the episode-by-episode structure must also give those elements time to work. The novels’ pacing depends on room for expansive adventures and developed characters.

The Dark Tower combines extended flashbacks, journeys across dimensions and deeply developed characters.

Without those qualities, the adaptation could lose what gives The Dark Tower its distinctive scale. A multiseason plan gives the story space, while careful episode pacing determines whether each book’s flashbacks, character arcs and journeys can be developed onscreen. Adapting the novels requires pacing their story elements, not simply spreading them across multiple seasons.

A season for each book could help the show follow the source material, although later books might require more episodes. That approach would make room for the novels’ detail, but it could also mean the series does not reach all seven books. The trade-off is between giving each installment sufficient space and completing the entire story.

What can The Expanse and One Piece teach The Dark Tower?

The Expanse and the live-action One Piece offer examples of adaptations that organize their stories around major source-material installments. The Expanse adapted the books book by book, while One Piece has generally covered one major story arc per season. Neither example guarantees a complete adaptation: The Expanse did not adapt its final three books, and the release pace described for One Piece means audiences may not see Luffy become King of the Pirates in live action. Both series prioritize installment-based storytelling over rushing to the conclusion.

Both adaptations stayed close to their source material instead of accelerating later storylines simply to provide a quick ending. That approach could suit The Dark Tower, where a season for each book would let the television story follow the novels’ structure. A book-by-book approach favors faithful pacing over a guaranteed adaptation of every book.

Seven seasons would be a major commitment, and a season-per-book plan would not ensure the show reaches the end. Still, the examples of The Expanse and One Piece illustrate the trade-off: a series can preserve the pace and shape of its source material even when it does not adapt the complete story. For The Dark Tower, that structure would prioritize the novels’ storytelling over a rushed conclusion.