Back in January, the writer of Young Guns and Young Guns II, John Fusco, posted a tweet that alluded to the fact that he was working on another incarnation of the Billy the Kid character with star Emilio Estevez. This immediately made fans think that a third Young Guns was in the works, especially after he tagged other stars from the films like Kiefer Sutherland, Christian Slater, and Lou Diamond Phillips in the tweet. Fusco's tweet is now beginning to gain some traction because Lou Diamond Phillips, who played Chavez y Chavez in the first two films, has confirmed that he has received a phone call from Estevez about the project.
Phillips was doing an interview with "Forbes" regarding his breakout role in the 1987 film La Bamba. The film is returning to the big screen for the TCM Big Screen Classics series and at the end of the chat about La Bamba, the subject of Young Guns III was briefly discussed and Phillips confirmed that he has already gotten the news about the project from Estevez himself. Here is what he had to say:
"I got that phone call a year ago. I know that Emilio has been working on it, and what’s even more encouraging is that John Fusco, the creator of the first two movies, is working on it with him. There’s just enough ambiguity about Chavez’s death that means he might have survived just like Billy the Kid did."
There you have it! The fact that Phillips has known about this project for a year shows you that there are big plans to get a third installment made. The first Young Guns was released back in 1988 and it was a retelling of the adventures of Billy the Kid during the Lincoln County War. While the film received mixed reviews from critics, the movie was hit with moviegoers, grossing $45.7 million domestically and $56 million globally on an $11 million budget. Young Guns II was released in 1990 and while critics were once again unenthusiastic, the film went on to gross $44.1 million domestically and $59 million worldwide on a $20 million budget. In the years since their release, both films have gone on to earn cult classic status and they remain popular today. Hollywood is all about nostalgia as you know so the fact that a third film could be in the works is pretty much in line with the notion that what is old is new once again.
Would YOU like to see Young Guns III happen?