Years after the last ride, Young Guns is making a comeback. Emilio Estevez, the force behind the franchise, just confirmed that the third film is finally happening. Not only is the project back on track, but filming is expected to begin soon, and the location is already set.
The original Young Guns hit theaters in 1988 and surprised everyone with its success. It was made with an $11 million budget, and earned over $56 million globally. A sequel arrived in 1990, continuing the story and bringing in even more at the box office.
‘Young Guns 3′ sequel is happening 30 years after the last installment
It’s been more than three decades since Young Guns 2, but the story never really felt finished. The sequel ended with a twist: an old man claiming to be Billy the Kid tells the tale of his past, raising questions about whether Billy really died in 1881 as the history books say. That open ending left plenty of room for another chapter.
In Young Guns 2, Estevez played both the younger Billy and the elderly man named “Brushy Bill” Roberts, who said he was the real Billy the Kid. Now, with Estevez older, he won’t need heavy makeup to play an aged outlaw. If Young Guns 3 picks up 30 years after the last film’s events, the story could shift into a new era, one where the Wild West is fading and legends are getting old and risk being forgotten.
‘Young Guns 3’s sequel almost didn’t happen
Things didn’t move as smoothly as fans hoped for the treasured franchise. In 2023, actor Lou Diamond Phillips, who played Chavez y Chavez, shared that the movie had run into problems. Rights issues slowed everything down, and the project was stuck. For a while, it looked like the third film might never happen.
However, recent updates suggest those hurdles have been cleared. With Phillips, Estevez, and other original cast members still on for the project, the film is no longer just a hopeful rumor. It’s back on track and heading toward production.