Seth Bullock and Al Swearengen find themselves up against a familiar foe when George Hearst returns to bring the new state of South Dakota into the modern age in the new trailer for Deadwood: The Movie, premiering May 31st on HBO.
The film sequel to the beloved Western is set 10 years after the series wrapped, with the characters reuniting to mark the official statehood of South Dakota. In the new clip, Bullock and Swearengen — the U.S. Marshal and crime boss, played by Timothy Olyphant and Ian McShane, respectively — must put their rivalry on hold when now-Senator Hearst of California (Gerald McRaney) returns to Deadwood with big plans. “Hearst won’t take long before he honors the rigors of his putrid fucking nature,” Swearengen deadpans to Bullock.
The clip teases Hearst’s efforts to shape Deadwood to his liking as new telephone polls go up and he tires to take land belonging to Bullock’s deputy, Charlie Utter (Dayton Callie), while threatening Trixie (Paula Malcomson), the prostitute who famously shot Hearst in the show’s final season. Amidst all the scheming and intrigue, the trailer also teases plenty of quintessential brawling and gunslinging.
Much of the original Deadwood cast returned for the film, along with the creative team, including creator David Milch. Milch, however, was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, and though he was able to write the script — and do minor rewrites during the shoot — his memory and faculties have started to slow.
“Certain complications were present throughout, and compounded as time progressed,” Milch told Rolling Stone of battling the disease while filming Deadwood. “I’m thankful to report my writing process has remained largely as it was. Each day is as it comes. We endeavor to meet life on life’s terms — not impose our ambitions on it, to be useful within the present moment.”
