Another familiar face is returning for the Wind River sequel. Yellowstone star Gil Birmingham will reprise his role as Martin Hanson in Wind River: The Next Chapter. Castle Rock Entertainment, which is producing the new movie without Taylor Sheridan’s involvement, also cast Succession star, Alan Ruck.
Birmingham and Ruck’s casting was announced on Wednesday. Kali Reis, a boxer who starred in the 2021 indie film Catch the Fair One, and Tatanka Means, who stars in Reservation Dogs and Martin Scrosese’s upcoming Killers of the Flower Moon, also joined the cast. Jason Clarke, Scott Eastwood and Chaske Spencer were previously cast in the project. Martin Sensmeier is also returning as Chip Hanson.
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In the new film, the Wind River reservation is terrorized by ritualistic murders the FBI can’t solve. The bureau asks Chip, now a tracker for the U.S. Fish & Game, to help. Chip finds himself stuck in the middle of a fight between authorities, a vigilante, and the Reservation he calls home.
Wind River: The Next Chapter was written by Patrick Massett and John Zinman. Kari Skogland, who earned an Emmy nomination for The Handmaid’s Tale in 2018 and also directed episodes of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, is directing. Matthew George for Castle Rock Entertainment and Acacia Filmed Entertainment, Basil Iwanyk, and Erica Lee for Thunder Road Pictures are producing.
The original Wind River was written and directed by Sheridan, who is not involved in the sequel. Sheridan is busy with Paramount Network’s Yellowstone, as well as the Paramount+ prequel series 1923. He is also developing Lioness, Bass Reeves, and Land Man for Paramount+. He created Tulsa King and co-created Mayor of Kingstown, which also streams on Paramount+. Wind River actors Jeremy Renner, who currently stars in Mayor of Kingstown, and Elizabeth Olsen are also not involved in the sequel.
Birmingham’s involvement in the project at least brings in someone close to Sheridan. The veteran actor first worked with Sheridan on the Oscar-nominated Western Hell or High Water in 2016. Birmingham has played Thomas Rainwater on Yellowstone since the show debuted in 2018. His other credits include Siren, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, the Twilight movies, and Transformers: The Last Knight. He also stars in Neil Burger’s upcoming movie The Marsh King’s Daughter, co-starring Daisy Ridley, Garrett Hedlund, and Ben Mendelsohn.
