Between Westworld, Red Dead Online, and Lil Nas X, there has never been a better time to be a Black cowboy than now, and with the upcoming release of The Harder They Fall on Netflix, I’m going to need to get fitted for my frock coat immediately. Regina King, LaKeith Stanfield, and Idris Elba lead a brilliant cast of some of Hollywood’s most dynamic actors in this Jeymes Samuel (They Die by Dawn and JAY-Z: Legacy) epic, new-school Western.
The film, written by Samuel and Boaz Yakin (Now You See Me and Boarding School), and produced by Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter, James Lassiter, Lawrence Bender, and Samuel also, tells the story of outlaw Nat Love (Jonathan Majors) who discovers that his enemy Rufus Buck (Idris Elba) is being released from prison and decides to round up his gang to track Rufus down and seek revenge.
Those riding for Love include his former love Stagecoach Mary (Zazie Beetz), his right and left hand men — hot-tempered Bill Pickett (Edi Gathegi) and fast drawing Jim Beckwourth (R.J. Cyler) — and a surprising adversary-turned-ally. Rufus Buck has his own fearsome crew, including “Treacherous” Trudy Smith (Regina King) and Cherokee Bill (LaKeith Stanfield), and they are not a group that knows how to lose.
The Harder They Fall is set to premiere this fall on Netflix and follows some outstanding performances from the star-studded lineup appearing in the film. King, Stanfield, and Majors have lit up social media and awards show conversation with their work on Watchmen, Lovecraft Country, and Judas and the Black Messiah, respectively, and audiences have been pushing for more representation in Westerns. The Harder They Fall looks to pack a lot of punch when it arrives and will surely whet the appetite of fans, new and old, of the genre.