Barry Pepper will be seeing Kiefer Sutherland at high noon.
The two will have a good, old-fashioned showdown in The Horseman, a feature-length Western from Nomadic Pictures set for an early 2027 release across Scripps Networks, which here prominently includes cable channel Grit.
The Horseman, directed by Rod Lurie (The Contender, The Last Castle) and developed and co-written by Pepper (Saving Private Ryan, True Grit) and Ed Gass-Donnelly, The Horseman is set in the late-1800s West, “where America’s burgeoning demand for illumination sparked a transformative oil rush,” per the logline.
Pepper stars in The Horseman as “The Man,” a “grieving father and husband devastated by the loss of his family who takes in a young colt, raising him as his sole companion,” the logline continues. “Over time, the two develop an extraordinary and profound bond. When separated against their will, The Man must go to desperate measures to reunite with the only family he has left.”
That would be the horse.
Sutherland (24) plays the film’s fancy big bad — “a narcissistic aristocrat consumed with demonstrating his superiority through intellect, wealth and violence. Educated, ruthless and lethal with a pistol, he pursues land and power with callous disregard for anyone who dares obstruct his path.”
C. Thomas Howell (1923, The Outsiders), Tzi Ma (Rush Hour, 24 with Sutherland, Mulan) and Ryan Michelle Bathe (Boston Legal, First Wives Club).
The Horseman, currently shooting in Canada, is produced in association with Peace River Pictures and Scripps Networks. Nomadic Pictures holds the global distribution rights; Scripps has them in the U.S.
“The nostalgic Westerns of my youth — The Good, The Bad & The Ugly, Pale Rider, The Outlaw Josey Wales, and later Unforgiven — were straightforward stories with lean dialogue, often featuring mysterious drifters with no name,” Pepper told The Hollywood Reporter. “These characters, embodied by my childhood heroes Clint Eastwood and Gary Cooper, served as the template for ‘The Man’ at the center of our film.”
“The story for The Horseman crystallized during the filming of True Grit, where I witnessed firsthand the extraordinary intuitive and sensitive nature of horses — how they react to the smallest movement, sense your tension, your heartbeat, the turn of your head, the shift of your hips,” he continued. “I understood why wranglers develop such profound bonds with these magnificent creatures and wanted to bring that to life for modern fans of classic Westerns.”
“We have an immensely passionate audience on Grit who care deeply about this Western genre,” added Adam Harman, Scripps’ senior vice president of programming. “The Horseman aligns with what we look for in a film for our audiences; it’s a truly exceptional project that will connect both those who have a love of classic Western films and those who have rediscovered the genre through modern storytelling driving a cultural resurgence. Nomadic Pictures has a proven track record of creating award winning content, particularly in this genre. Combined with Barry’s vision, Rod Lurie directing and a strong cast led by Barry and Kiefer, we believe The Horseman has all the ingredients to become a modern Western classic — one that audiences will return to for years with repeat viewing.”
“There are few things that make a director’s bucket list faster than a Western,” said Lurie. “Barry Pepper’s beautiful screenplay achieves two things at once. It is both a fully classical Western story and also a supremely emotional thing — a gorgeous study on enduring grief. With words like the ones that Barry has provided and the acting talent in our movie, my job has been made not just easy, but also blissful.”
“The Scripps team has been an amazing partner from day one,” said Nomadic Pictures co-chairman Chad Oakes. “To be the catalyst in bringing Barry Pepper’s amazing script to life makes this even more personal. Re-teaming with our good friend and director Rod Lurie and DP Craig Wrobleski completes this incredible project, which we feel audiences will love.”
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