Fans are getting a first-look at the long-fabled Deadwood movie, which is slated for a 2019 premiere.
More than a year after news broke that David Milch’s acclaimed HBO Western series would be making a return more than a decade after it was unexpectedly canceled, Entertainment Weekly got the scoop on the upcoming film when Carolyn Strauss, former HBO executive and an executive producer on the Deadwood movie, sat down for an interview.
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You can see the first-look photos on Entertainment Weekly.
Set in 1889, 10 years after the events of the original series, which ran for three seasons from 2004-2006, the HBO film is “about the passage of time” and “the toll of time on people,” according to Strauss.
“It’s mellowed some people and hardened others. And it’s about the town’s maturing and becoming part of the Union and what that event sets in motion, in a very personal way for the people that it brings in town and what ensues,” Strauss teased.
“The toll of time has not just struck Deadwood and the characters but all the people making it as well, you get to see the faces of people 12 years later,” she continued. “And it was really profound. Actors were crying at the table read — not necessarily from the script but the emotion of being back and doing something we all loved doing so much. You normally have a great experience and then it’s over. You don’t normally get the chance to do this in life. It was kind of a gift.”
Strauss added that Ian McShane’s Al Swearengen is one of the characters who has undergone the biggest change over the course of the 10-year absence. Once the “person who drove so much of the life of the town,” his power is now “waning.”
The upcoming film was due to the stars aligning, according to Strauss. Rumored for years, Milch “had an idea for the script and the will to write it and we managed to get all the actors.” In November of 2017, production officially kicked off, with the movie being filmed on the same set where Westworld currently films.
Although not given an exact premiere date, Strauss also announced that the upcoming film is currently set for a spring of 2019 premiere and is set to be around two hours long.
Along with McShane, the film will see the return of Timothy Olyphant, Molly Parker, Paula Malcomson, John Hawkes, Anna Gunn, Kim Dickens, and several more former Deadwood cast members.
