Summary
In the story of Stephen King’sThe Dark Tower, fans know that the plot revolves around Roland Deschain, the last of the gunslingers, as hechases the Man in Blackin order to find the Dark Tower. Yet while these two characters are the driving force that unlocks a massive and epic fantasy multiversal story, they are not the only characters that are crucial to the overall narrative. On Roland’s journey, he comes across and meets new allies. Some of them even become part of his band of heroes, known as his ka-tet. One character that has become a fan favorite over the years isEddie Dean, and fans have been clamoring for one actor to bring him to life:Aaron Paul.
The star of the critically acclaimed seriesBreaking Badbecame the popular choice to bring Eddie Dean to life afterhis portrayal of drug dealer Jesse Pinkman, and the similarities between the two characters are shockingly close. It is Aaron Paul’s ability to convey both humor and heart in his roles that makes him such an incredible choice for a character who becomes so crucial to Roland’s story.
Eddie Dean, Explained
Eddie Dean makes his first appearance in theDark Towerseries in book two,The Drawing of the Three. Following in the footsteps of book one,The Gunslinger, the story followsRoland after his confrontation with the man in black. Roland awakes having aged several years, and is now left wandering on a beach. After being injured on his journey, he finds doors scattered across the beach, each marked and waiting for him to travel through in order to recruit others to his cause. The first, marked The Prisoner, is where he finds Eddie Dean.
The doors allow Roland to project his mind onto the bodies of those meant to be his allies, and Eddie Dean is shocked to hear Roland’s voice in his mind. A drug addict forced to smuggle drugs on an airplane, Eddie travels to the meeting, only to lose his brother in a drug deal gone wrong. He then allows Roland to take over his body to save them both in a massive firefight. Promising to help Eddieovercome his addiction, Roland brings Eddie into his world, where Eddie joins Roland’s ka-tet.
Eddie Dean would become the heart and soul of Roland’s group, overcoming his addiction and taking Roland’s lessons to become a new gunslinger in his own right. He would go on to find love, a new family, and use his unique sense of humor and wit to outthink a homicidal AI. He would travel across multiple worlds to take down theCrimson King’s Warriors of the Scarlet Eye, aka the People of the Redand Outer Dark. Tensions would remain between Eddie and Roland, as Roland’s stoic and serious demeanor and singular-minded goal of finding the Dark Tower would cause strife within the group. But in the end, they would find a solidarity neither one knew they had been missing.
Aaron Paul’s Casting Would Be Perfect
For years after the character of Eddie Dean came out in book two of the series, and subsequentlythe acclaimed seriesBreaking Badpremiered, there has been a vocal set of fans within theDark Towercommunity who have advocated for Aaron Paul to become Eddie Dean, all thanks to his role as Jesse Pinkman. Some details, like their vices of choice or the eras they hail from, may differ — Eddie Dean is from 1980s New York and Jesse Pinkman is from 2000s-era New Mexico. However, their core personalities and humanity remain so eerily similar.
The evolution of both characters emphasized how Aaron Paul could pull this role off as well. The character in the book is a prisoner of his own addiction as well, and is often haunted by the love he shares with his brother, despite his brother’s negative influence on him. This relationship could easily mirror the destructive nature of Jesse’s relationship with Jane in the showBreaking Bad.Both of these relationships had a massive emotional impact on their respective characters' overall journey. Both Jesse and Eddie had difficult relationships with their mentors as well,although Walter Whiteis very much a more destructive influence than Roland Deschain could ever be.
Yet in the end, it is their ability to overcome their addictions, their complicated emotions, and their troubles in order to do the right thing, that makes them powerful characters. Jesse often attempts to make things right towards the end ofBreaking Baddespite his past actions, while Eddie Dean chooses to use his experiences to help Roland’s mission and protect his new family in the process.With Mike Flanagan’s adaptation ofThe Dark Towerever closer to becoming a reality, fans are eager to see casting news for this planned series. One role that should be perfect casting is that of Aaron Paul to finally bring Eddie Dean to life properly.
