The latest update on Young Guns 3 is that the sequel is stalled, but not canceled. For years, there have been rumors and rumblings about the Young Guns movie series getting a third installment. The writer of the original films, John Fusco, said that the movie was happening in early 2021, though with a lack of major updates in the years since, it’s been starting to look like the third Young Guns movie may not end up seeing the light of day.
Enter Lou Diamond Phillips, who is one of the stars of the original two films. While speaking with EW following his run on The Masked Singer, Phillips addressed the current status of Young Guns 3. He said that the plan is for his co-star Emilio Estevez to step up and direct the third film, with Phillips adding that he’s read a “wonderful” script for it penned by Estevez. At this point, however, Phillips admits that the planned project hasn’t been canceled, though it’s currently stalled and remains unclear when exactly production may start.
“It’s in limbo right now,” Phillips said. “It was chugging along there for a minute, but then I think they got into a rights situation… It’s not dead, but it’s not happening right now.”
The lack of progress is certainly not due to the actors not wanting to return. Phillips stresses how much he wants to reunite with his old co-stars to make the thrid movie, comparing it to something like Top Gun: Maverick in terms of having the right timing for a legacy sequel.
“I would crawl through broken glass to go work with those guys again,” Phillips explained. “It’s a sequel that allows for the right amount of time to have gone by, which puts it in a very interesting place in history.”
Young Guns 3: Will It Really Happen?
One issue with a third Young Guns movie is that Phillips’ character, Jose Chavez y Chavez, seemingly died along with Billy the Kid (Estevez) in Young Guns II. But Phillips points out that those characters didn’t die on-screen, keeping the door technically open to reveal that they hadn’t perished after all. The same can’t be said for other characters who very obviously didn’t make it, given their on-screen wounds.
“Did you see the body? You never saw the body,” the actor notes. “Some people go, ‘But the spirit horse came for you.’ And I say yes, but there was nobody on the back of the spirit horse, was there?”
Phillips added, “The advantage of that is myself and a couple of other people died off screen. The ones who got shot to bits, they’re not coming back. But there were a few of us whose death was a little ambiguous and you can kind of get around it. And so yes, Chavez would be back.”
The first Young Guns, written by John Fusco, was directed by Christopher Cain and released in 1988. The Western stars Estevez, Phillips, Kiefer Sutherland, Charlie Sheen, and Dermot Mulroney. The 1990 sequel, Young Guns II, was written by Fusco and helmed by Geoff Murphy. It brought back Estevez, Phillips, and Sutherland, with new cast members Christian Slater, William Petersen, and Alan Ruck also starring.
We’ll have to wait and see if Young Guns 3 ultimately come to fruition. Meanwhile, if you want to revisit the original Young Guns, you can currently find the film streaming for free on the free streaming service Amazon FreeVee.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
