Deadwood movie 'looking very good,' HBO says

The fabled Deadwood movie is finally looking very real — as in, likely going into production this year real. The thing is still not certain yet — it’s the Deadwood movie after all — but it’s as certain as something can be without actually being certain… if that makes sense.

This is how HBO’s programming president Casey Bloys explained it to us, and he’s not a guy who’s big on giving viewers false hope: “Assuming we can get the actors — their deals and schedules lined up — and the budget, which I think is close, we’re going to do this possibly in ’18 sometime,” Bloys said. “There are a lot of logistics that have to come together. The actors are on different shows. Assuming we can get them together, it’s looking very good.”

And in case you’re wondering, “the Deadwood movie” is literally movie length — two hours, Bloys confirmed, so don’t expect a miniseries.

Deadwood is writer-producer David Milch’s 2004 ultra-gritty Western starring Ian McShane and Timothy Olyphant which ran for three seasons before being unceremoniously canceled amid some dispute over how to wrap up the production between Milch and the network. A Deadwood movie was promised. And then, something that should not have been forgotten was lost. History became legend. Legend became myth. And for a decade, the Deadwood movie was put on hold. Until now… maybe.

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