A few weeks back Deadline reported that Universal may have gotten cold feet over the ambitious “Dark Tower” movie and mini-series combo that Ron Howard’s putting together. The main problem, and you can understand why (it’s a risky project – one spanning several movies and a TV series; secondly, Howard’s track record of late isn’t grime-free) is the price-tag of the project. The film was originally set to film in the Fall, with Javier Bardem in the lead role, but that’s no longer happening.

The Hollywood Reporter had an update on the production today saying that while the film’s start date has been pushed back considerably, Howard, producer Brian Grazer and writer Akiva Goldsman have regrouped to see if they can’t slash the budget on the thing. If Goldsman can rewrite the script, therefore slashing off a few bucks off the budget, Universal will push forward with the project.