Against all odds, a sequel to this Netflix western is in the works

Western The Harder They Fall – with its crazy cast – released in 2021 on Netflix, is still making headlines. Well received by the press and quickly becoming a hit for the streaming service, James Samuel’s debut feature had 64 million hours watched in its first week, according to Netflix.

But since its release two years ago, nothing has been said about a potential sequel to the film, but James Samuel recently took to social media to confirm that a second The Harder They Fall is in the works.

A fan posted on X (formerly Twitter) a message about The Harder They Fall, indicating that he wanted a second film in development. Samuel’s accounts were captured in a post and shared by him. The filmmaker quoted the original post with the caption, “…there is one.”

We’re a long way from an official sequel announcement for The Harder They Fall, but it’s an encouraging (and surprising) announcement for those who loved the first film. Another user responded to Samuel’s post and suggested that the next film be a prequel centered around the characters of Idris Elba, Regina King and LaKeith Stanfield (the film’s antagonists).

Samuel quoted this post, joking that the user should “Stop being an infernal medium“, possibly hinting that a prequel is indeed the direction the next film will take.

What is The Harder They Fall about?

The Harder They Fall tells the story of outlaw Nat Love who seeks revenge on the man who killed his family, Rufus Buck. The film stars Jonathan Majors, Idris Elba, Regina King, Lakeith Stanfield, Zazie Beetz, RJ Cyler, Danielle Deadwyler, Edi Gathegi and Delroy Lindo.

Ahead of the film’s release on Netflix in 2021, Samuel spoke ComicBook.com From creating a new kind of Western, incorporating contemporary music and focusing on black cowboys and real-life outlaws who have long been overlooked in gender.

• Read our review of The Harder They Fall, this Western with Idris Elba that dusts off the genre

“I wanted to tell a story and present these characters in a film where they don’t obey. They are less than human. They will not fall short of anything“, – said James Samuel then.And I really wanted to make a film where you see that, where you see all that we lack as real power in these people. But also, in the same breath, testimony“.

“I love westerns, I don’t see enough of them, so I really wanted to tell a story where I can do with the camera what they couldn’t do when John Ford was doing westerns, what they couldn’t do. Made when John Huston was in business– continued the director.I really wanted to use drones and show the train robbery. I love bank robbery, train robbery, prison break, but I wanted to show the prison break and the train robbery in the same scene and tell that story using split screen. I wanted to do all that with my first feature film and I did.“

Now it’s up to Netflix to confirm or deny the news. Harder They Fall is still available on the platform.