HBO swears they’re bringing back Swearingen.
By Brandon Wolfe
Since its premature cancellation in 2006, Deadwood has always been the one major HBO show that got away. The Sopranos, The Wire and Six Feet Under all got to come to their natural ending points, but Deadwood was cruelly cut short, and seemed for a decade to be fated to remain that way.
But sometimes our age of constant franchise resuscitation pays off because HBO is indeed finally committed to reviving the cult-fave Western. Programming president Michael Lombardo has confirmed that he has given series creator David Milch the go-ahead to make a movie that continues the story of Al Swearingen (Ian McShane) and the rest of the denizens of that muddy little South Dakota outpost.
“David has our commitment that we are going to do it,” says Lombardo. “He pitched what he thought generally the storyline would be — and knowing David, that could change. But it’s going to happen.”
Lombardo says that, while Milch has another project he’s currently working on, “the understanding is that when he is done with that he will turn his attention to [writing the] script for the Deadwood film.”
There’s also the matter of reuniting the show’s sprawling cast, many of whom have seen their stars rise significantly in the past ten years, which could prove tricky to any such reunion. “I’m going to leave that in David’s hands,” Lombardo said. “He’s confident he will be able to. The cast is unbelievably [tight],” he adds. “Some casts and creators form a bond that becomes relevant for the rest of their lives. This was a defining moment for a lot of them.”
Time to let the 10-letter C-word loose once more.
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