It's been somewhat of a rough road for the multi-tiered adaptation of Stephen King's epic The Dark Tower series. First announced last fall as a big-screen trilogy and tie-in television series (to feature the same cast), the property had met with a delay earlier this year. Now, Deadline reports that Universal has dropped out of the project altogether, dealing what could be a critical blow to the saga of Roland Deschain, the Gunslinger.

Ron Howard was attached to the project to direct at least the first part of the series and would have overseen the rest of the massive adaptation. Javier Bardem was said to have landed the role of the Gunslinger with Akiva Goldsman and Mark Verheiden tackling the writing duties.

It is possible that the project could still move forward at another studio with Deadline suggesting that Warner Bros. might be a possible alternative.