Directed by John Ford, and starring John Wayne, The Searchers is considered one of the greatest Westerns of all-time.
The 1954 movie stars Wayne as Civil War veteran Ethan Edwards, obsessively searching for his missing niece, who was abducted by a Native American tribe years previous.
That movie was loosely based on a true story, and now Taylor Sheridan is planning a film based on an acclaimed book that tells the tale.
Yellowstone fans are hyped for Taylor Sheridan’s new Western
Taylor Sheridan has overseen Yellowstone and its many spinoffs, and for his next movie, he’s sticking with the Western genre, shooting an adaptation of historical novel ‘Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History’ by S.C. Gwynne.
Sheridan will both write and direct the movie for Warner Bros., with the story described as a “vivid historical account of the forty-year battle between Comanche Indians and white settlers for control of the American West, centering on Quanah, the greatest Comanche chief of them all.”
And fans are hyped for the project, with one writing: “This is good, assuming they do it right. People outside of Texas and Oklahoma need to know about the Comanche.”
Another posts: “Sheridan has really made an emphasis to tell indigenous stories that Hollywood had denied for years good for him.”
While a third writes: “A great book – hopefully they do it justice.”
The story behind The Searchers
As described by publisher Little Brown Book Club, the tome tells two stories: “The first traces the rise and fall of the Comanches, the most powerful Indian tribe in American history. The second is the epic saga of the pioneer woman Cynthia Ann Parker and her mixed-blood son Quanah, who became the last and greatest chief of the Comanches.”
And that Searchers story is Parker’s, “a nine-year-old girl who was kidnapped by Comanches in 1836. She grew to love her captors and became infamous as the ‘White Squaw’ who refused to return until her tragic capture by Texas Rangers in 1860.”
Author Gwynne had this to say to Deadline about the announcement: “I can’t think of anyone better qualified to bring Empire of the Summer Moon to the screen than Taylor Sheridan. He has a deep and nuanced understanding of both the myth and reality of the Old West. I am thrilled that he is undertaking this project.”
Leave a Reply