The rumor began with a tweet about rumors: Actor Garret Dillahunt, who played Deadwood’s Francis Wolcott, said Wednesday night he was hearing murmurs that the series would finally return in the form of a movie. Not long after, the rumor became less rumor-y, when Entertainment Weekly confirmed that “’preliminary talks’ have begun about turning the David Milch western series into a (small screen) movie.†Deadline made it sound less likely, unfortunately: “In reference to Garret Dillahunt’s tweet regarding the rumored Deadwood movie, there have only been very preliminary conversations.â€
But still possible. Those preliminary conversations are still conversations, so it looks like a little guilt trip could go a long way:
Talk of Deadwood movies aren’t entirely new. Nearly a decade ago, around the time the season was canceled (RIP), Milch had compromised by agreeing to two two-hour movies to wrap up the story, according to Deadline. That has since been a kind of roller-coaster negotiation ride. “I’ve told you before that I don’t know anybody who was on Deadwood who wouldn’t try to find a way to come back to it if they brought the show back,†actor Jim Beaver told us in 2013. “They came close last year to getting those long-discussed Deadwood movies going again. But the project fell apart, for what I heard through the grapevine were reasons of studio politics rather than the question of whether the creative forces involved wanted to do it.†Surely this is an instance in which history need not keep repeating itself. Yes, #everybodypray.