Ron Howard is out right now promoting his new film The Dilemma, which is a relatively expensive and involved Hollywood production, but nothing compared to what he expects to be his next project: an adaptation of Stephen King's The Dark Tower series. Instead of trying to cram the expansive seven-novel series into a single film, Howard and producing partner and writer Akiva Goldsman plan to adapt it first as a feature film (set for release May 17, 2013), then a six-hour TV special, then another feature film, and so on. They're still very early in planning the effort, and a lot of things could change, but in an appearance on the Howard Stern Show today (as transcribed by Slashfilm), Howard laid out a lot of what we might be able to expect.

First of all he addressed the latest set of rumors to come out about the project, that Javier Bardem and Viggo Mortensen were being considered to play the main role. Howard definitely didn't deny that they were part of the conversation, but insisted " there are other people also being considered.” He also made a very, very good point about the complication in getting actors so famous to commit to such a gigantic project:

“They are both artists, and so are some of the other people we’re thinking of. But this is the situation. They have to see, in this case, that we’re using both mediums to really tell a story and [commit for years]."

Of course, the commitment isn't scaring off Howard-- he confirmed that he plans to direct the first feature in addition to the television episodes, which he said would likely air on one of the NBC/Universal-owned networks (Slashfilm speculates it would be on NBC, but I have a much easier time imagining it on NBC affiliate USA). And Howard, responding to a fan who called in, emphasized that they're using the movie and TV split in order to put as much of King's original novels on screen as possible:

Hey look, there is always a risk when you adapt something and books are challenges. But I think a movie idea is there. And if I have my way, and if everything goes according to plan, which is of course a big if — we’ll be doing movies, we’ll be doing television, and all of that isn’t just [to make money] but all of that is to be as comprehensive as possible. The idea of doing part of it on the big screen and part of it on television is to try to include absolutely as much of the books, and even the graphic novels, as possible.”

I appreciate how cautious Howard is being in talking about the project, as even when you're Hollywood royalty who can do pretty much anything you want, you don't have the power to magically push through a project of this size with no complications. Even with the Dark Tower release date set, there's still plenty that could change between now and when we see the movie. If Howard continues talking this openly about the process in the meantime, Stephen King fans may be able to breathe a lot easier as we watch this massive adaptation take shape.