Matthew McConaughey’s first major villain role was inThe Dark Tower, and it will soon be remade by horror writer and director Mike Flanagan. Most ofMatthew McConaughey’s best moviesput him in heroic roles:Dallas Buyers Club’s Ron Woodroof became a hero by the film’s ending, andInterstellar’s Cooper is the definition of a tragic hero. It’s rare that the actor plays a villain, but he got a chance to play his first major antagonist when he joined thecast ofThe Dark Towerin 2017.
InThe Dark Tower, McConaughey plays Walter Padick, the mortal enemy of Idris Elba’s Roland Deschain. Walter was a sorcerer who was determined to bring down the eponymous Tower, which would destroy the entire universe. He’s the main antagonist ofThe Dark Tower, and sinceMike Flanagan is making aDark Towershow, Walter will show up again, albeit with a different actor. That’s likely for the best, however, as even though Walter was McConaughey’s first major villain, it was far from his best.
Matthew McConaughey’s Biggest Villain Role To Date Is As The Dark Tower’s Walter Padick
McConaughey Played A Villain In Killer Joe, But The Dark Tower Was Much Bigger
Matthew McConaughey has played a handful of villains in the course of his acting career, but his role as Walter Padick inThe Dark Toweris by far the biggest bad guy character he’s ever played. InThe Dark Tower, McConaughey’s character was trying to destroy the titular Tower and the entire universe along with it.McConaughey has played villainous roles beforeThe Dark Tower- such as in 2011’sKiller Joe- but Walter was by far his most prominent character. In fact, Walter is such an important figure in Stephen King’s literary universe that McConaughey’s portrayal of him turned out to be controversial among fans.
Why Matthew McConaughey’s Villain In The Dark Tower Movie Is So Divisive
McConaughey’s Performance Was Alright, But Walter Was Supposed To Be The Biggest Stephen King Villain Ever
Matthew McConaughey’s portrayal of Walter Padick is rather controversial among Stephen King fans.Many critics believed that McConaughey’s attempt to make Walter seem aloof and uninterested ended up making him seem stony and uninteresting. He sometimes fails to come across as devilishly clever and unnervingly charming, and instead seems like a general mustache-twirling villain bent on destroying the world. Walter was supposed to be a truly mysterious character with unknowable machinations, but McConaughey failed to convey that and instead played him like a regular bad guy.
Walter was supposed to be a truly mysterious character with unknowable machinations, but McConaughey failed to convey that and instead played him like a regular bad guy.
The biggest reason McConaughey was criticized for playing Walter Padick, however, was because the character is so important to King’s work. Walter isRandall Flagg, one of the biggest villains in Stephen King’sentire oeuvre. Flagg appears in several Stephen King novels, and he’s a major part of the horror author’s work.Critics are mixed on how well McConaughey played Flagg, but the main problem was that the script ofThe Dark Towerjust didn’t do justice to the character. All of Flagg’s evil machinations and his chaotic nature were gone in the film in favor of an overly simple plan to destroy the Tower.
How Mike Flanagan’s The Dark Tower Show Can Avoid The 2017 Movie’s Walter Padick Complaints
By Being Longer & More Faithful To King’s Books, Flanagan’s Show Can Nail Randall Flagg
Both Matthew McConaughey’s portrayal of Randall Flagg and the movie adaptation ofThe Dark Towerleft quite a bit to be desired, but Mike Flanagan has a chance to right those wrongs.Flanagan’sDark Towerseries can easily give the world a better live-action depiction of Randall Flagg for two big reasons: it’s going to be significantly longer than 2017’sThe Dark Tower, and it’s going to follow King’s books more closely. Mike Flanagan is already a master of adapting Stephen King’s novels, andThe Dark Towerbooks became popular for a reason, so a more faithful adaptation should be a recipe for success.
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The longer, episodic format of Flanagan’s show will give whoever plays Flagg ample time to establish a creepy, almost omniscient persona around the character that McConaughey’s performance didn’t have the time or script for.Instead of rushing straight from introductions to Flagg’s final play at destroying the Tower, Flanagan’sDark Towercan introduce him more naturally. There will be time for Flagg’s palaver with Roland, for their tarot drawing, and for all the little things that make him such an interesting and unique villain.
It won’t be easy to capture all the things that make Randall Flagg scary and unique, but if anyone can beat Matthew McConaughey and The Dark Tower, it’s Mike Flanagan.
Of course, the actor who plays Walter in Mike Flanagan’sThe Dark Towerwill also have big shoes to fill. There’s been a lot of speculation aboutwho Mike Flanagan may cast forThe Dark Tower, and Randall Flagg may be the most important. They’ll have to learn from the mistakes McConaughey made and deliver a more unsettling, chaotic, friendly in an insidious way, and devilishly charming performance. It won’t be easy to capture all the things that make Randall Flagg scary and unique, but if anyone can beat Matthew McConaughey andThe Dark Tower, it’s Mike Flanagan.
The Dark Tower
Cast
Idris Elba, Tom Taylor, Claudia Kim, and Matthew McConaughey star in The Dark Tower, a Western Sci-Fi film directed by Nikolaj Arcel. Released in 2017, The Dark Tower follows a young boy with visions of an apocalyptic future in which a powerful man, dubbed The Man in Black, lays waste to the universe. The film is based on the Stephen King book series.
