Jeymes Samuel’s all-black Western The Harder They Fall is set to hit Netflix next week after a brief theatrical run. Buzz has been really strong, and I personally loved it, saying at the conclusion of my review that I want to see these iconic Western characters reunited in a sequel. I mean, who doesn’t want to see Jonathan Majors, Zazie Beetz, Idris Elba, Regina King, Delroy Lindo, and the rest of this awesome cast together again?
Well, it might actually happen. Samuel spoke with /Film about The Harder They Fall, and the short film They Die By Dawn that he says is just the start of what he envisioned as a trilogy…
“It was a short film, so really ‘The Harder They Fall’ is book one. I’m always going to go to the Old West. I’ve always imagined ‘The Harder They Fall’ as a three-parter, as it were, a prequel and a sequel. And I’ve always wanted to flesh out that story, but I’m always going to go to the Old West.
“I love Westerns too much. I can’t do nothing about it. I try, but I can’t. I feel like John Malkovich in ‘Dangerous Liaisons’ speaking to Glenn Close about his love for Michelle Pfeiffer. I tried to kill it, but I can’t, at present. It’s beyond my control. It’s beyond my control. I love Westerns.”
Samuel continued by saying that he’ll definitely return to the Western genre, and compared his love of these characters to zombies…
“Without spoilers, ‘The Harder They Fall’ always ended the way ‘The Harder They Fall’ ended because I’m coming back, I’m coming back. Like those zombies that won’t go down [mimes gunshot noises] ‘bam, bam, bam.’ But they keep coming, ‘bam bam bam bam bam,’ they keep coming. That’s me with the Old West.
“And also, when people tell me they don’t like Westerns, ‘I don’t like Westerns. I don’t like Westerns.’ Yes you do. You like stories, right? You like film, right? It’s just what you’ve been given by westerns, you don’t like. Okay, watch this teaser, watch this trailer, and tell me you don’t like Westerns. It was like, ‘I told you.’
“So, with the cowboy and the cowgirl aesthetic in cinema, my ethos is like Vera Lynn, (sings) ‘we’ll meet again, don’t know where, don’t know when, but I know we’ll meet again one sunny day.’ I’m coming back, and back, and back. You know what I mean?”
Whether this actually happens will depend on the numbers The Harder They Fall brings to Netflix. They would definitely be pumped for a new franchise, especially one that appeals to the Black audience because those are extremely rare throughout Hollywood.
The Harder They Fall hits Netflix on November 3rd.
