The most exciting news was that Idris Elba was seen as the frontrunner to play the lead role of Roland, the last gunslinger. This news was met with some degree of concern by some corners because Roland, as depicted in Stephen King’s novels, is white. Well, the movie’s writer and producer has his own feelings about those concerns. He doesn’t give a shit.
Akiva Goldsman is absolutely in love with the idea of Idris Elba playing The Gunslinger. His excitement is palpable in a recent interview where he speaks about the possibility of Elba in the role. His feelings toward those that don’t like the casting choice are equally clear. They can go to hell.
I'm unbelievably proud of it as a collaborator on this enterprise and because I think that he's a great actor and I couldn't be more thrilled that he is likely to play a part... I understand that people who are thoughtful about the storytelling and the racial politics of the storytelling might want to understand how that informs that storytelling, and I respect that and I hear that, and those things are not things we didn't think about or don't think about. The racist assholes should go fuck themselves.