Billy Oduory with a selection of western movies and TV shows for Yellowstone fans to keep an eye out for in 2024…
The hunt for the next Yellowstone started immediately after Paramount announced that the hit Western would end after its fifth season whose second half is expected in November 2024. Yellowstone is, undoubtedly, one of, if not the, greatest Westerns ever created, so there is no doubt that fans are looking forward to the next hit TV series or movie that will recreate the charm of life on the frontier like Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone.
Fortunately, for Yellowstone fans, the show’s creator, Taylor Sheridan is working on a series of other Westerns, some of which are set to be released in 2024. Other networks, especially Netflix and Amazon, have also been drawn by the success of Yellowstone to venture into the Western genre with highly-anticipated shows and movies that are expected to entice the genre’s giant fan base, so let’s delve into the top 10 upcoming Western shows and movies in 2024 rumored to be “the next Yellowstone.
American Primeval
Netflix has been in the race to make the next Yellowstone for years now as the streamer seeks to exploit the in-demand genre that will be left unserved when Yellowstone exits the stage. There is a series of Westerns set to be released on Netflix that will compete with Yellowstone, but American Primeval, which has been in the works since 2022, is the one confirmed for release in 2024. Directed by Peter Berg and Eric Newman, the six-episode miniseries follows a group of immigrants across the frontier as many of them experience the clash of religions and cultures in the Wild West for the first time.
Details about what the show is about are still scanty, although we know it revolves around a Mormon caravan that gets caught up in a war between settlers and natives, just like the Duttons in the Yellowstone prequel 1883. According to Netflix, “American Primeval is a raw, adventurous exploration of the birth of the American West. The violent collisions of cultures, religions, and communities as men and women fight and die for control of this new world – for a land they truly believe is their destiny. The ensemble tells a story of the sacrifice all must pay when they choose to enter a lawless and untamed wilderness.”
The show, which stars Taylor Kitsch, Alex Fine, Kip Weeks, Tokala Black Elk, Derek Hinkey, and Jeremy Guana seems like a more violent version of the Yellowstone prequel. The short preview released by Netflix shows that American Primeval will heavily focus on the conflict between native Americans and settlers and not a single-family dynasty like Yellowstone.
Ransom Canyon
Ransom Canyon is Netflix’s other Western that has been described as the Western romantic saga where “Virgin River meets Yellowstone.” The show stars Josh Duhamel as Staten Kirkland, the steadfast and stoic owner of the Double K Ranch who is resistant to outside forces changing his way of life. Beside Duhamel is Minka Kelly as Quinn, a woman struggling to find her footing in the Texas Hill Country after failed attempts at a career as a concert pianist in New York. To a Yellowstone fan, these characters sound a lot like a partnership between John and Beth Dutton which would make an interesting watch.
While the show doesn’t have as much action and politics as Yellowstone, its exploration of the American ranching industry is similar to Yellowstone. The show follows generations of ranchers, just like Yellowstone, and focuses on underlying family wrangles between the county’s two largest landowners. While Netflix hasn’t stated the release date yet, the show has been in the works since 2022 and we believe it will be released in late 2024.
The Last Train to Fortune
Directed by Adam Rifkin, The Last Train to Fortune is a Western movie starring Malcolm McDowell as Cecil Peachtree, a school teacher, who misses his train and is forced to ask for a ride from an outlaw named Jedidiah Dooley (James Paxton) in exchange for his school stipend. As the duo makes the dangerous journey to Fortune, they are caught up in countless dangerous situations including gunfire, a jailbreak, and salon girls, all of which force them to form an unlikely bond.
Rifkin and McDowell have been planning to release the film for decades with no success but the film is now set to be released in 2024. McDowell stars alongside his ex-wife Mary Steenburgen and a supporting cast of Bernadette Peters, Laura Moreno, M.C Gainey, Lee Arenberg, Marshal Bell, and Craig Stark. While it is just a movie, its storyline reads like a recap of James Dutton traveling alongside Elsa Dutton’s boyfriend, Sam, in 1883 and that is bound to entertain any Yellowstone fan.
Horizon: An American Saga
Horizon is Kevin Costner’s passion project which has been in the works since the 80s, which he decided to actualize after his exit from Yellowstone. The first installment of the four-part movie series is set to premiere at the French film festival in May 2024, with the official release coming on June 28, 2024, while the second film will be released in August 2024. The film series covers a 15-year period across both sides of the American Civil War, following multiple characters as they struggle to survive and make a living in the lawless American West.
The film is an ambitious project that is set to cash in on Costner’s fame after his successful portrayal of John Dutton across five seasons of Yellowstone. In the movie series, Costner plays Hayes Ellison, who seems to share a lot in common with Yellowstone’s Dutton Patriarch as far as passion and charisma are concerned. Despite the widespread fan disappointment after Costner’s exit from Yellowstone, many fans are still set to check out Horizon: An American Saga, albeit out of curiosity.
SEE ALSO: Kevin Costner’s Horizon: The Western That Made Him Leave Yellowstone Explained
Blood Meridian
Cormac McCarthy’s gothic western novel Blood Meridian is arguably one of the best American works of literature ever created. It tells the story of a 14-year-old boy, only known as The Kid, who stumbles on a horrific market where an organized gang trades in the scalps of Indians across the Mexico/Texas border in the 1850s. The dark world in McCarthy’s novel has a lot in common with Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone Universe, including the absence of a defined line between good and bad.
The feature film, which is produced by New Regency and Black Bear Pictures, is directed by John Hillcoat (Lawless). The film is set to introduce one of the darkest tales ever seen in a Western film, except it will be more like exploring The Train Station for Yellowstone fans.
The Pinkerton
After his success with Ozark, Jason Bateman is set to venture into the Western genre with The Pinkerton described as a supernatural-revenge movie in a Western setting. The film derives its name from the controversial Pinkerton Detective Agency established by Allan Pinkerton in the mid-1800s. While the details of what the film is about haven’t been revealed, we believe it is in line for a release in 2024 since production has been underway since early 2023.
Bateman serves as the executive director alongside Michael Costigan (Lying and Stealing 2019) while Bad Robot produces the film alongside J.J. Adams for Warner Bros. The film will be Bateman’s directorial debut in a Western film, but after he won an Emmy for his directing of Ozark episodes, there is no doubt he can pull off a second Yellowstone with The Pinkerton.
Empire of the Summer Moon
Written by S.C Gwayne, Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History, is considered one of the best pieces of American literature on the Comanches. The book is a tale of the four decades of the rise and fall of the Comanche tribe under the legendary chief Quanah. Taylor Sheridan won the rights to the book in early 2024 before it was announced that he would produce it alongside Jenny Wood.
Having transformed Yellowstone, which was previously intended as a feature movie, into a whole universe, fans can only imagine what Sheridan will do with such a rich piece of literature. Apart from the announcement of Sheridan’s huge acquisition, there have been no more details on when Sheridan’s show will be released. However, for Yellowstone fans, the story of the Comanches will be a welcome continuation of the Rainwater family and Broken Rock Reservation which are a major part of the Yellowstone Universe.
Landman
This is another Taylor Sheridan Western set to be released in 2024, and, unlike Empire of the Summer Moon, this one is well on track for release in 2024. “Landman is set within the world of oil rigs in East Texas, where “roughnecks and wildcat billionaires are fueling a boom so big it’s reshaping our climate, our economy, and our geopolitics,” the show’s official synopsis reads. It stars Billy Bob Thornton in the lead role of Tommy Norris, a crisis manager for an oil company.
Like Yellowstone, which ventured into the little-explored contemporary American ranching industry, Landman is set to point the cameras at the unseen side of Texas oil. The film brings to light the realities of life in the oil rigs of the Permian desert where fracking has led to the biggest oil boom ever seen in American history. Like Yellowstone’s Duttons, Landman follows the Norris family whose lives are tied to another precarious industry, heavily influenced by external forces.
Wind River: The Next Chapter
Directed by Kari Skogland (The Falcon and The Winter Soldier), Wind River: The Next Chapter is set to be the sequel to Tylor Sheridan’s 2017 movie, Wind River. In the new film, the FBI recruits Chip Hanson to help them solve a string of ritualistic murders on the titular Indian reservation. In the film, Martin Sensmeier reprises his role as Chip, replacing Jeremy Renner (Mayor of Kingstown) in the lead role. Most of the cast members of Sheridan’s film are also set to return, including Gil Birmingham as Martin Hanson.
Although Taylor Sheridan doesn’t direct it anymore, the sequel is expected to reprise his charm and express the reality of life on the reservation just like Yellowstone. The injection of new blood in Wind River will also give Taylor Sheridan’s fans a chance to see what other people can do with his signature brands when given the chance.
The Thicket
Starring Peter Dinklage as the renowned frontier bounty hunter Reginald Jones, The Thicket is an upcoming Western feature film directed by Elliott Lester. The film follows Jack (Levon Hawke) a young man who sets out to track the deadly gangster known as Cutthroat Bill across the dreaded East Texas forest called The Thicket in a bid to save his kidnapped sister. Dinklage’s character accompanies Jack alongside a group of misfits who hope to survive all the dangers of this dreaded territory of 1800s East Texas and save Jack’s sister.
Peter Dinklage is famous for his role as Tyrion Lannister in Game of Thrones and The Thicket could well be his next big project. With the star-studded cast named for the project, The Thicket is one of the most highly anticipated Westerns in 2024 as many Yellowstone fans hope it will be just as good as the hit show.
