This article contains mention of suicide.
Warning: This article contains spoilers from Salem’s Lot and The Dark Tower series.
The 2024 adaptation ofSalem’s Lotmakes a significant change that ruins its most compelling connection toMike Flanagan’sThe Dark Towerseries. When it was published in 1975,Stephen King’s novel about vampires in the town of Jerusalem’s Lot was meant to be a standalone story. WhileSalem’s Lotstill largely works as its own story, it is also connected to King’sThe Dark Towerseries, which sees many familiar characters, locations, and references from King’s works appearing across the multiverse. Indeed,Salem’s Lot2024 has plenty of Stephen King Easter eggssprinkled throughout.
The Dark Towerwas adapted into a 2017 movie starring Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey as Roland Deschain and the Man in Black, the latter of whom is also known as Randall Flagg, the main antagonist in King’s novelThe Stand. Flanagan, who has adapted King’s novelsGerald’s GameandDoctor Sleep, is in the process of developing a television series adaptation ofThe Dark Towerseries. WithFather Donald Callahan later becoming a majorDark Towercharacterafter first being a mainSalem’s Lotcharacter, he could have appeared in Flanagan’s adaptation, but the 2024Salem’s Lotsomewhat ruins this connection.
Salem’s Lot Killing Off Father Callahan Ruins His Connection To Mike Flanagan’s The Dark Tower Adaptation
It Fundamentally Changes Callahan’s Story
The 2024Salem’s Lotadaptation sees Father Callahan dyingat the hands ofthe vampire Kurt Barlow, as Callahan’s faith is unable to protect him. In the source material, Father Callahan survives, but not before Barlow forces the priest to drink his blood. This desecration prevents Father Callahan from getting inside his church and his shameful failure leads him to leave Jerusalem’s Lot, making him the only survivor other than Ben Mears and Mark Petrie. Callahan’s story continues in King’s 2003Dark TowernovelThe Wolves of the Calla, when he crosses paths with Roland and his ka-tet.
InThe Dark Tower, ka-tet means"one made from many,“and is a group brought together by fate.
Callahan is a prominent character inThe Wolves of the Callaand its sequels,Song of SusannahandThe Dark Tower, with his story getting the closure he did not receive by theend ofSalem’s Lot. The newestSalem’s Lotadaptation undermines this connection by unceremoniously killing off Father Callahan.It is a premature ending to the priest’s story that robs him of the full arc he undergoes inThe Dark Towerseries, along with taking away the possibility of having John Benjamin Hickey potentially reprise the role in Flanagan’s upcoming adaptation.
Why Salem’s Lot 2024 Changes Father Callahan’s Stephen King Book Ending
It Was A Product Of The Adaptation Process
Salem’s Lotdirector and writer Gary Dauberman revealed in an interview withCinemaBlendthat heconsidered keeping Father Callahan’s fate the same as in the books. He explained that"If Callahan just goes away, I don’t know how that feels to an audience. I didn’t know how to complete that story without [the audience] knowing about the Dark Tower.“He emphasized that while this story worked in the books, it would not have translated as well to theSalem’s Lotmovie as it relied too heavily on a story he would not be able to tell.
All 16 Stephen King Books That Tie Into & Reference ‘Salem’s Lot
While Jerusalem’s Lot doesn’t feature as prominently as other places, it & ‘Salem’s Lot are still referenced in plenty of others Stephen King books.
Nevertheless, Dauberman remained interested in Father Callahan’s story and even"pitched the Callahan TV show and they weren’t interested. So that kind of shot that [down]. I was like, ‘This could be a really cool show.’ He arrives to New York. It’s, you know, the AIDS crisis happening in New York, he’s working in the soup kitchen, like all that stuff.“In the 2024 version of the story, Father Callahan is still defeated by Barlow due to his lack of faith, but it ends with losing his life instead of a shameful retreat that ultimately leads to his redemption.
What Happens To Father Callahan In The Dark Tower Books
He Has A Moving Redemption Story
As indicated by Dauberman, Father Callahan ends up in New York City after fleeing Jerusalem’s Lot. He learns to recognize the three types of vampires that exist, andafter one of them infects and thereby kills someone Callahan loves, he becomes a vampire hunter. He is hunted because of this and ends up in the town of Calla Bryn Sturgis in Mid-World. Callahan enlists the help of Roland and his ka-tet in defeating the Wolves that threaten Calla Bryn Sturgis. He later joins the ka-tet in their quest to reach the Dark Tower.
Callahan is able to wield his faith against them and without a cross or other artifacts, as he realizes that true faith is within himself and not beholden to such objects.
In the final book,The Dark Tower, Callahan confronts vampires and other minions of the evil Crimson King and dispatches as many as he can, which enables Jake Chambers to save the captive Susannah Dean. Callahan is able to wield his faith against them and without a cross or other artifacts, as he realizes that true faith is within himself and not beholden to such objects. He then takes his own life before the vampires can, anddies a hero who saved his friends and as a man who found his faith again long afterSalem’s Lot.
Salem’s Lot
Cast
Salem’s Lot is a 2024 remake of the movie of the same name released in 1979. The latest adaptation of Stephen King’s 1975 novel stars Lewis Pullman, Makenzie Leigh, and Bill Camp, with Gary Dauberman writing and directing the Max original film. The plot revolves around a writer who discovers a vampire in his hometown of Jerusalem’s Lot upon returning home for inspiration.
