Summary
TheWesterngenre was all but dead throughout the 1980s, but some key members of the Brat Pack helped revive it. For decades, Westerns were one of the most popular movie genres and made the careers of icons like John Wayne, Gary Cooper and Henry Fonda. Around the beginning of the 1960s, however, younger viewers grew bored of them, though the emergence ofClint Eastwood’sDollarstrilogyand the Spaghetti Western subgenre gave Westerns a much-needed boost.
Sadly,the Western genre was all but dead when the 1980s rolled around, with studios shifting focus to effects-driven blockbustersand movie star vehicles. Westerns will never regain the popularity that once held, but that’s not to say there haven’t been some outstanding entries in the last 30 years either.UnforgivenisClint Eastwood’s greatest Western, Tarantino helmed two great ones back to back withDjango UnchainedandThe Hateful Eight, whileTombstoneis an evergreen classic.
Why The 1980s Was The Worst Decade For Westerns (A $44 Million Box Office Bomb Is To Blame)
The ’80s saw a real drought of Westerns being produced by major studios, and this was due to the failure of an ambitious historical epic in 1981.
The Brat Pack Stacked Young Guns Revived The Western After Heaven’s Gate Bombed
Young Guns deserves credit for the 1990s Western revival
1980 saw the arrival ofHeaven’s Gate, an epic Western that was a passion project for director Michael Cimino. It soon became infamous for stories of Cimino’s perfectionism, which saw the budget almost quadruple during filming. Cimino’s epic was ultimately a $44 million bomb, with the film being greeted with poor reviews and grossing less than a tenth of its budget back. The aftermath ofHeaven’s Gate’sfailure spelled the end of United Artists, while other studios avoided Westerns for much of the 1980s.
Outside of Eastwood making a comeback with the successfulPale Riderin 1985, the rest of the decade was bleak for Westerns. That changed thanks toYoung Gunsin 1988, which cast Brat Pack stars like Emilio Estevez, Charlie Sheen, and Kiefer Sutherland (The Lost Boys)in key roles. The film cast Estevez as Billy the Kid, who unites his fellow “Regulators” to seek revenge for the unjust killing of their benefactor.
Young Gunswas an effort to make a Western for the MTV generation, with the casting of up-and-comers like Sheen and Sutherland designed to make it appeal to younger audiences. It helped that the real story of Billy the Kid and his Regulators called for the casting of younger stars anyway, though the film tips its hats to classic Western numerous times, with John Wayne’s son Patrick even making a cameo as Pat Garrett. Despite mixed reviews,Young Gunsgrossed $45 million worldwide(viaBox Office Mojo), and signaled to studios there was still an audience for Westerns.
Tom Cruise has a brief, silent cameo inYoung Gunsas a henchman who is shot and killed during the final gunfight.
The Success Of Young Guns Predicted The Western Revival Of The 1990s
Young Guns walked so Kevin Costner could Dance with Wolves
TheYoung Gunsmovies helped kick off a surprise Western revival during the 1990s, with the decade seeing the arrival of Kevin Costner’sDances with Wolves, Eastwood’sUnforgiven, Kurt Russell’sTombstoneand many more in quick succession.
The film isn’t quite a classic, but it’s still a fun adventure with a great cast and solid action.Young Guns’endingleft room for a direct sequel, with 1990’sYoung Guns IIreuniting the surviving characters from the original with newcomers played by Christian Slater and Alan Ruck. The follow-up was another hit, but more than that, theYoung Gunsmovies helped kick off a Western revival during the 1990s, with the decade seeing the arrival of Kevin Costner’sDances with Wolves, Eastwood’sUnforgiven, Kurt Russell’sTombstoneand many more in quick succession.
With the genre having been dormant on the big screen throughout most of the 1980s, there was seemingly a hunger among audiences for Westerns to make a comeback. The 1990s was a shockingly fruitful period too, which also boasted films likeMaverick- itself a remake of a 1950s Western series -Bad Girlsand Sam Raimi’sThe Quick and the Dead. Sadly,as the decade became increasingly focused on blockbusters following the success ofJurassic Park,Westerns began to fall out of favoronce again.
Why Young Guns 3 Could Still Happen
Emilio Estevez wants to drop the “Young” from “Guns” though
By the start of the 2000s, big-budget Westerns became scarce once again, though there were occasional hits like Costner’s underratedOpen Range. It’s also been over three decades since the last entry in theYoung Gunsfranchise, but there’s still a good chance another chapter could happen. In 2021,Estevez confirmed a new sequel with the working titleYoung Guns 3: Alias Billy the Kidwas being developed by franchise creator John Fusco. He also revealed during aYahoointerview that he’d rather drop “Young” from the title and just call itGuns 3to reflect his character’s age.
$45,661,556
43%
$44,143,410
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Dollar for the Dead(1998)
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If the sequel happens, the intention is to bring back co-stars Lou Diamond Phillips and Slater, despite both of their characters seemingly perishing inYoung Guns II. That 1990 sequel gave a potential third entry a framework too, implying Billy faked his death at the hands of Pat Garrett and changed his name to Brushy Bill Roberts. Given the resurgence in popularity of the Brat Pack thanks to Andrew McCarthy’s nostalgic documentaryBrats,Young Guns 3should add a few more faces from that group to the cast too, like Rob Lowe or Molly Ringwald.
Young Guns
Cast
A band of young gunslingers, led by the rebellious Billy the Kid, seeks retribution for the killing of their guardian. As they navigate the dangers of the Old West, their acts of vengeance draw the ire of both the law and their enemies.
