But taking into account the epic saga of Roland the Gunslinger, and the sorts of death and torture that are conveyed throughout his journey to reach the Tower, the PG-13 rating was as big a surprise as the fact that Nikolaj Arcel’s film was more of a sequel than an adaptation.
So the main handicap to The Dark Tower’s production, at least in Stephen King’s perspective, was the blockbuster friendly rating the film was aiming for.
Knowing King’s work, even on a cursory level, will tell you that making a film based on such works with anything other than an R-rating can be problematic for most of the stories you’d think to adapt.