Actor and filmmaker, Emilio Estevez, says that Young Guns 3 is currently in development. Back in the 1980s, the first entry in the series took audiences by storm, with a cast that included the likes of Charlie Sheen, Kiefer Sutherland, Lou Diamond Phillips, and of course, Estevez, as legendary old West outlaw, Billy the Kid.

Young Guns followed the story of a group of young gunslingers who find themselves hunted by the employees of rich rancher, L.G. Murphy (Oscar-winner Jack Palance). The film gives a vague insight into the backstory of Billy the Kid and The Regulators – a deputized posse that fought in New Mexico’s Lincoln County war. Though Westerns weren’t particularly popular during the time of the film’s release, its star-power helped push it into the limelight. After grossing over $45 million on a $13 million budget, the film had more than enough momentum to merit a sequel. What’s more, Estevez’s portrayal of Billy the Kid had been one of the highlights of Young Guns. When Young Guns II: Blaze of Gloryarrived in 1990, its focus was that of Billy the Kid and how he successfully managed to fake his own death.

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Despite the failure of Young Guns II to match the success of the first film in the series, many Young Guns fans haven’t forgotten about the two films. It’s hard to know what kind of direction a third film could go in, but according to Collider, Estevez has confirmed that a Young Guns III is indeed on the way. Explaining that people still regularly ask to see him get back to acting on the big screen, Estevez spoke about a third Young Guns, saying:

Yeah, it’s definitely in the works. I drive a lot and I spend a lot of time in the Midwest, and people will tell me, ‘We haven’t seen you on screen for a while. Come back! We’d love to see you in the movies again. We’d love to see you play Gordon Bombay. We’d love to see you play Billy the Kid.’ So, I feel like we’ve ticked one box, and we’re working on ticking the other one. The Kid is a fun character to play. There’s a lot of speculation about what happened that night, in 1881 in Fort Sumner, New Mexico. Did he die? Did he not? And so, there’s a lot of mythical, historical and actually some factual things that we can examine, if we’re serious about going back to that franchise, as well.

Estevez is currently in the process of resurrecting another of his more popular acting turns with the upcoming release of Disney+’s Mighty Ducks series, The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers. Should that series become a hit, Estevez would have some nice additional momentum to help build interest in Young Guns III. This isn’t to say that the film couldn’t find success regardless, but the fact of the matter is that Westerns still don’t typically draw substantial crowds. A sequel from a series that was last seen over thirty years ago could have a tough time attracting an entire demographic that didn’t grow up with the first two films.

Then again, there have been a number of successful Westerns in the years since Young Guns II was released. There seems to be a never ending supply of nostalgia in Hollywood these days, with subscription streaming services all too eager to bring back older films and stories. Young Guns III could definitely attract a solid fanbase, but only time will tell if a third entry in the series is actually a worthwhile pursuit for Estevez.

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Source: Collider

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Mike Jones
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Mike Jones is an author, screenwriter, world traveller and cinephile. His work has been featured in print and online in a variety of publications, and he’s also a Berlinale Talents alumnus. Cinema has always moved him in a big way and aside from having seen The Talented Mr Ripley more times than any other living person, he maintains a pretty darn healthy physical media collection. His favourite filmmakers include: Jordan Peele, David Lean, Alfred Hitchcock, Mike Leigh, Steven Spielberg, the Dardenne Brothers, Noah Baumbach, Michael Haneke, Barry Jenkins and Andrea Arnold. Often jet-lagged, Mike once turned down a certain A-list celebrity’s offer to join them for a night of partying after a strange encounter in an airport.

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