Matthew McConaughey found significant stardom after saying “Alright, alright, alright” in Dallas Buyers Club. But only this iconic dialogue, McConaughey is an exceptional actor with incredible performances in many other films.
Having never been associated with a franchise before, McConaughey was offered a Marvel role in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and the lead role in The Dark Tower which was a potential cinematic universe if it worked. But for reasons unknown, McConaughey gave up on the MCU role.
Matthew McConaughey Gave Up an MCU Role
Back when director James Gunn was creating Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Matthew McConaughey was offered a role in the movie. At the same time, McConaughey was also interested in adapting Stephen King’s novel, The Dark Tower into a movie and later a cinematic universe.
The Interstellar actor chose to reject the MCU role and star in the latter film but did not give a clear reason why until 2016. In an interview with Playboy, the actor stated that he preferred having creative control over a universe that he built from the ground up rather than having a role in an already-established cinematic universe.
“I like Guardians of the Galaxy, but what I saw was “It’s successful, and now we’ve got room to make a colorful part for another big-name actor.” I’d feel like an amendment. The Dark Tower script was well written, I like the director [Nikolaj Arcel] and his take on it, and I can be the creator, the author of the Man in Black—a.k.a. the Devil—in my version of this Stephen King novel.”
He further continued,
“We’ve done the first one. It’s a fantastic thriller that takes place in another realm, an alternate universe, but it’s very much grounded. For instance, the gunslinger’s weapon isn’t a lightsaber or something; it’s a pistol.”
Although Matthew McConaughey decided to follow his passion, it didn’t turn out very well for the actor, since The Dark Tower wasn’t what people expected from a Stephen King adaptation.
Matthew McConaughey’s The Dark Tower Failed
McConaughey had stated in his Playboy interview that his character was a very special person in the film. Stating that his character was the Devil simply seeking a good time, McConaughey seemed to have enjoyed acting out in the film.
“I enjoyed approaching my character as if I were the Devil having a good time, getting turned on by exposing human hypocrisies wherever he finds them.”
But the film didn’t work out since there were many problems throughout the 1-hour 35-minute runtime. With negative reviews and curses, The Dark Tower received a rating of 5.6/10 on IMDB and a record low of 15% on Rotten Tomatoes.
The 2017 film is available to stream on FuboTV in the U.S.
Source: Playboy