(Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP, File)

Stephen King’s Dark Tower series is finally heading to the big screen and the production has added a fantastic new cast member making me feel a little better about the project. Longtime Whedonverse star, Fran Kranz has been cast as Pimli in the Sony adaptation.

Kranz joins Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey. The character of Pimli is the antagonist and “right-hand man” to McConaughey’s bad guy, the Man in Black. The Dark Tower fantasy series stars Elba as Roland Deshcain, a wandering knight errant of sorts, and the last hope of the Mid-World. With a pair revolvers and the help of a few friends, Deshcain aims to right things in his fallen realm by way of the Dark Tower, a structure that stands at the nexus point of both time and space. In the process he must battle his nemesis the Man in Black, who too is attempting to reach the Dark Tower to harness its powers.

The Dark Tower will be helmed by Ron Howard and Brian Grazer via production using their Imagine Entertainment banner, while Nikolaj Arcei is set to direct.