Summary
It seems likeYoung Guns 3could finally happen, but it’s Kiefer Sutherland’s fault he can’t rejoin the cast.The “Brat Pack” frontedYoung Gunshelped save Westernsduring the 1980s, with the genre having struggled for much of that decade. The original was an effort to make the genre appeal to younger audiences, with the cast being filled with up-and-comers like Emilio Estevez as Billy the Kid, Charlie Sheen and Kiefer Sutherland. Not only was it a solid hit, butYoung Gun 2: Blaze of Glorysoon followed in 1990.
Given that the sequel deals with Billy the Kid’s death,a potentialYoung Guns 3sounded out of the question. This isn’t the case, as the sequel posited that Billywasn’tkilled at all, but faked his death and went into hiding as Brushy Bill Roberts. Speaking withInside of You with Michael Rosenbaum, franchise star Lou Diamond Phillips confirmed that Estevez penned a screenplay for a third film and also plans to direct.Phillips also confirmed he and other characters whose deaths were ambiguous inYoung Guns 2will returnfor the next story.
Where Was Young Guns Filmed? (Every Location)
Young Guns is set in the Wild West during the late 1870s and tells the tale of legendary outlaw Billy the Kid. Here’s where the western was filmed.
Kiefer Sutherland Requested To Die In Young Guns 2
Sutherland really wasn’t planning for a Young Guns 3
InYoung Guns 2, Chavez appears to die from a mortal gunshot wound and gets taken away on a spirit horse. Of course, while the sequel shows this horse, Chavez isn’t actuallyseenon it. The sequel’s epilogue also reveals Christian Slater’s “Arkansas” Dave Rudabaugh was beheaded after escaping to Mexico, but given this also happened offscreen, there’s enough wiggle room to suggest he could have survived. Alan Ruck’s loveable but naive Hendry William French also lived, but the same can’t be said for Sutherland’s Doc, who is riddled with bullets during an ambush scene.
Scheduling conflicts forced Sutherland to leave Young Gun 2’s production early, so he requested that Doc die during the Stinking Springs ambush.
Doc decides to sacrifice himself after being fatally wounded and tries to buy his pals timeto get clear of the ambush. Doc died inYoung Guns 2at Sutherland’s request, despite surviving in the screenplay and being reunited with his wife. Scheduling conflicts forced Sutherland to leave the production early, so he requested that Doc die during this sequence. Estevez confirmed Sutherland’s early demise came at the actor’s own request during a 2023 interview withYahoo.
He insisted if he came back for Young Guns II, that he only was available to play a smaller part. I think he was only available for three or four weeks. And that he had to be shot in the shootout at Stinking Springs, which is a historically documented shootout between Billy the Kid’s gang and Pat Garrett. Well, Doc Scurlock wasn’t there. It was Charlie Bowdre. Doc Scurlock lived on to be a 90-year-old man. So Kiefer made sure that he’s not in Part III [laughs] by getting himself killed in Part II, which again, is historically inaccurate.
Indeed, the character of Charlie Bowdre (Casey Siemaszko) was killed duringYoung Gunsending, though this wasn’t the case in reality. SinceBlaze of Glorywas intended to end the story, there was no thought of another film happening someday.Sutherland likely felt it was a cooler exit for Doc to go down fighting, but his definitive demise makes aYoung Guns 3return unlikely, or at least bordering on impossible.
Sutherland’s “Doc” Scurlock Lived To The Age Of 80 In Real Life
Doc survived in Young Guns 2’s original script
Anyone who might complain aboutYoung Guns 3undoing the death of Chavez should bear in mind the real Chavez lived to the age of 72, so the history checks out.Not only did the real Josiah “Doc” Scurlock survive the events depicted inYoung Guns 2, but he later moved to Texas and died at the age of 80in 1929. Doc was one of the founding members of the Regulators, a deputized posse formed during the bloody Lincoln County War.
Rocker Jon Bon Jovi pennedYoung Gun 2’stheme “Blaze of Glory,” and makes a brief cameo as an outlaw who gets killed during a prison escape.
An older, wiser Doc being reluctantly dragged back into his gunslinging ways would have been a great hook for a third adventure.Sutherland is also one of the biggest names in theYoung Gunscast, so having him on the poster of part three would have been a plusin marketing too. Considering Doc was shot about a dozen times in the 1990 sequel, it would be stretching credibility to breaking point forYoung Guns 3to reveal he somehow survived too.
Will Young Guns 3 Actually Get Made?
Or Gun 3: Alias Billy the Kid, as it is sometimes called
During the aforementioned chat with Michael Rosenbaum, Phillips mentioned that despite aYoung Guns 3script existing and Estevez having done location scouting, it’s currently not moving forward.Phillips reveals that rights holders Morgan Creek have “put the kibosh” onYoung Guns 3for now, despite seemingly having no plans to continue it themselvesin other forms.
Indeed,it’s been over 30 years since the previous movies and outside rumors of a potentialYoung GunsTV series reboot around 2017, the franchise has been quietfor a long time. Hopefully, the rights issues overYoung Guns 3will get sorted out, because with so many of the cast eager to return, it would be a shame to let the opportunity slip away.
Young Guns
Cast
A band of young gunslingers, led by the rebellious Billy the Kid, seeks retribution for the killing of their guardian. As they navigate the dangers of the Old West, their acts of vengeance draw the ire of both the law and their enemies.
