Of all the shows that people have mourned for being canceled too soon, HBO’s grit-soaked western Deadwood is probably the one where “cocksucker” was said the most. And fans will be downright ecstatic to hear that we will one day again get to kick up dust and blood with Al Swearengen and the rest, as HBO programming president Michael Lombardo confirmed the network has given the greenlight to a reunion movie, and that everything is now in show creator David Milch’s hands.
David has our commitment that we are going to do it. He pitched what he thought generally the storyline would be – and knowing David, that could change. But it’s going to happen.
We won’t blame you if you spend the next few minutes calling everyone you know to scream in excitement. And hopefully this initial glee will hold you over for a while, as this announcement (made by Lombardo at a party at this year’s TV Critics Association press event) doesn’t mean that the project is going into production tomorrow or anything. There are still steps to take, but the fact that the path is there is definitely an amazing thing.
As far as a timeline goes, Lombardo says that David Milch is currently working on another project – we’re not sure if it’s the previously announced William Faulkner series or something else – but that the plan is for Milch to bang out the script for a Deadwood movie as soon as that project isn’t taking up the bulk of his attention. Here’s hoping it doesn’t take that long; the fact that it’s feature-length, rather than something in series form, should make the writing process a little smoother. At least, assuming he hasn’t amassed 1,000 ideas for what he would do if the opportunity ever came.
Another obstacle in the way of bringing this all together is signing on the large ensemble cast, almost all of whom have built up and continued successful careers. According to TVLine, though, Lombardo has faith in Milch’s confidence that everyone will be back, saying the show bonded many of them together in a strong way. Fans bonded with them too, to the point that seeing actors reunite – as was the case when the always spectacular Garret Dillahunt joined Timothy Olyphant on Justified – is reason for celebration.
This is hardly the first time that news of a Deadwood reunion has come up. Plans to bring two TV movies to HBO were discussed in the years following the cancellation, but nothing became of them. And then some months back, Dillahunt spread a rumor that a Deadwood movie was in the works, but it sounded more like a big screen effort at the time, rather than something HBO was keeping to itself. The fact that Milch has kept his relationship with HBO going strong, even through the terrible behind-the-scenes incidents on the drama Luck, has been reason enough to think that more Deadwood would one day happen.
While you’re waiting on future updates, don’t forget that you can check out all 36 episodes of Deadwood’s three seasons on Amazon Prime.
