HBO in Preliminary Talks for ‘Deadwood’ Movie
UPDATE: HBO programming president Michael Lombardo confirmed to TVLine that he has greenlit a Deadwood movie. “David has our commitment that we are going to do it,” Lombardo said. “It’s going to happen.”
Deadwood, the acclaimed HBO western series that was cancelled in 2006, may be returning — as a movie.
Actor Garret Dillahunt, who played two characters on the show, including geologist Francis Wolcott, during its run from 2004 to 2006, posted two tweets Wednesday hinting at the prospect. In response, a spokesman for HBO confirmed to Variety that “very preliminary discussions” have been made to resurrect the series with a movie.
Dillahunt’s initial tweet read:
So uh….I’m hearing credible rumors about a #Deadwood movie. #Everybodypray
— Garret Dillahunt (@garretdillahunt) August 13, 2015
He followed with a second one:
Come on @HBO…you made @entouragemovie. Give the #Deadwood fans some closure. #Youcandoit.
— Garret Dillahunt (@garretdillahunt) August 13, 2015
According to Variety, HBO previously announced two Deadwood movies after the series was abruptly cancelled in 2008, but nothing ever came of them. Creator David Milch was also offered a short, six-episode fourth season of the series but declined.
In 2014, Rolling Stone named a fight scene from the show’s third season — “a gut-wrenching, eye-popping battle between the right-hand men of the two biggest villains in David Milch’s revisionist Western” —as one of TV’s Most Heart-Stopping Moments.
Set in the 1800s in the South Dakota town of the same name, Deadwood starred Ian McShane as saloon owner Al Swearengen and Timothy Olyphant as Sheriff Seth Bullock, and ran for three seasons. The show received 28 Emmy nominations, winning eight times during its run.
It was recently announced that McShane will be returning to HBO for a yet-to-be revealed role in the upcoming sixth season of Game of Thrones.