Patton Oswalt Has Somehow Never Been In A Stephen King Adaptation, So I Asked Him About A Dark Tower Role I Think Would Be Perfect

As a Stephen King fan, one of the great joys of my job here at CinemaBlend is that I frequently have the opportunity to talk to the stars and filmmakers who have made film and television adaptations of the author’s stories – digging into both the work itself and their relationships with the legendary writer. Recently getting the opportunity to interview Patton Oswalt, however, I was presented with a unique situation: while the comedian/actor is a devoted Constant Reader, one of the few fandom boxes he has not yet ticked in his career is making a King project.

At this point, what would be the perfect King role for Oswalt? I have what I think is a pretty good idea, and it was one that I suggested directly to him – resulting in the main headline of this week’s edition of The King Beat. But that’s not all, as the past few days have also delivered both exciting news about an upcoming audiobook release, and opportunity to reflect on the one adaptation starring the great Catherine O’Hara: the 1997 Outer Limits episode “The Revelations Of ‘Becka Paulson.” With much to discuss, let’s dig in!

When It Comes Time For Mike Flanagan’s The Dark Tower To Feature Dandelo, I Can Think Of No One Better Than Patton Oswalt

SPOILER WARNING: Before reading any further, you should know that the following contains spoilers for a particular sequence in Stephen King’s last book in the Dark Tower series. Knowing about it won’t ruin your experience of the novel, but if you’re spoiler-phobic, continue at your own risk!

When doing interviews over Zoom, I like to use a section of my physical media collection as a backdrop – specifically about half of my Stephen King library and shelves of movies and TV shows. There have been instances when it’s been a negative, as interviews tend to be short and the background can be a distraction… but in the case of Patton Oswalt, it led to a fun, quick aside about our shared affection for King’s work.

I spoke with the comedian this weekend during the virtual press day for his new animated movie GOAT, but as you can see in the video above, our conversation first took a detour. Having read Oswalt’s books Zombie Spaceship Wasteland and Silver Screen Fiend, I knew going into the interview that he is a Constant Reader, so I wasn’t surprised when he took note of my King collection – and it led me to note that while he has had roles in just about every franchise (Star Trek, Marvel, DC, Ghostbusters, and more), he has never been in a King movie or TV show.

As Oswalt pointed out, however, while he may not have an adaptation on his filmography, he has something possibly even better: he’s namedropped in a Stephen King book. Specifically, he’s mentioned in 2019’s The Institute, in a scene with protagonist Luke Ellis surfing the internet and learning about an upcoming standup performance at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis.

This history in mind, one might think that a role in MGM+’s The Institute Season 2 would be wholly appropriate (and that wouldn’t be wrong), but I had a much more special character in mind for Oswalt – which he responded to with a smile and a mimed call to writer/director Mike Flanagan.

That character? Dandelo from the seventh and final book in the Dark Tower series. It’s not a massive role in the grand scheme of things, as he only encounters the epic’s protagonists once, but it could be an amazing opportunity for Patton Oswalt.

Without getting too into the weeds and giving too much away to those of you who haven’t read the book, Dandelo is a stranger whom protagonist Roland Deschain encounters, and he initially appears friendly – introducing himself as a stand-up comedian named Joe Collins. In truth, though, he is a psychic vampire who drains his victims by making them laugh, much like how IT a.k.a. Pennywise feasts on fear.

I don’t really need to explain much more for you to understand why Oswalt would be great for the part, right? He’s a perfect fit for the disarming Joe Collins persona, and it would be fascinating to see him fully explore his range and become a monstrous cosmic terror. He’s excelled in dramatic roles before (Young Adult and Big Fan being two titles that immediately spring to mind), and it would be amazing to see him as a true terror.

The only downside here is that even if this does ever happen, we are many, many years from actually getting to see it. Mike Flanagan is being very diligent in the development of his Dark Tower adaptation, likening it to navigating an oil tanker, so we may still be years away from seeing the project roll cameras – and even after that point, Dandelo doesn’t show up in the story until what would probably be the second film in Flanagan’s “five seasons of a TV series followed by two features” plan. Even if production were to start in 2027, an annual rollout would mean not getting to see Dandelo until 2032.

Does that make this an act of putting the cart before the horse? No question about it… but these are the things I like to occupy my brain with instead of worrying whether or not the adaptation gets made and the vision gets executed.

“The Body” Is Getting A New Audiobook Presentation With A Perfect Narrator: Wil Wheaton

I am a big audiobook fan, and when it comes to Stephen King novels, a number of the greatest are read by the late Frank Muller. From The Talisman to The Green Mile to three of the Dark Tower books, Muller’s voice is perfectly suited for the author’s prose and enhances the work in special ways. One of the best of the best available is his reading of the collection Different Seasons, which includes the standout novella “The Body” – but even with that in mind, I’m stoked to learn about a new read of the beloved coming-of-age story that is being produced, as it has a perfect performer attached in Wil Wheaton.

King himself revealed the news of the project via Bluesky, his post featuring not only an announcement message but also a video of Wil Wheaton discussing how it’s been a goal of his for “literal years” to record his own reading of the novella. Clearly bursting with joy, Wheaton says,

Of course, the reason why this is so exciting and is such a perfect marriage of narrator and material is because of Wheaton’s role in the 1986 Rob Reiner classic Stand By Me. In the movie, the actor plays Gordon "Gordie" Lachance, and the novella is told from that character’s grown-up perspective, reminiscing about his childhood in 1960s Maine. Richard Dreyfus plays adult Gordie in the movie, but now that Wheaton is an adult himself, he is an ideal fit as a reader for the new audiobook.

The new recording will be made available on March 24, and pre-orders are open now via Audible.

In Praise Of Catherine O’Hara’s “The Revelations Of Becka Paulson”

In the wake of the awful news late last week that Catherine O’Hara has passed away, tributes have been rolling in. Fans have been praising her work from all eras of her career, including the legendary Canadian sketch series SCTV, the Home Alone and Beetlejuice movies, and recent shows such Schitt’s Creek and The Studio – but because this is The King Beat, I want to talk about the single King adaptation featured on her resume.

In the mid-1990s, O’Hara played the titular character in the Outer Limits episode “The Revelations Of ‘Becka Paulson,” and it’s an adaptation that is as weird as it is macabre as it is great. Based on the short story of the same name, the darkly comic tale begins as ‘Becka accidentally shoots herself in the head while getting out her home’s Christmas decorations. Instead of killing her, the injury results in her hearing the voice of a model featured in a picture frame stock photo (Steven Weber), and these visions lead her to get up to some bad business.

O’Hara is terrific in the role, as she plays it perfectly straight and is a kind of vehicle for the oddness of the escalating circumstances around her, resulting in some wonderful and memorable scenes (my personal favorite being an interaction she has when she runs into the local veterinarian). Should you want to give it a watch, it’s available to stream – along with all seven seasons of the Outer Limits 1990s reboot – with an Amazon Prime subscription.

That brings us to the end of this week’s edition of The King Beat, but as ever, I’ll be back next Thursday here on CinemaBlend with a fresh column exploring all of the biggest developments in the world of Stephen King.