Before “Yellowstone” became a huge phenomenon on the small screen, Academy Award-nominated writer Taylor Sheridan (“Sicario,” “Hell or High Water”) made waves with his feature film screenwriting and directorial effort on “Wind River.” A murder mystery revenge thriller set in a rural community in Wyoming, the drama starred Jeremy Renner, Elizabeth Olsen, Gil Birmingham, Graham Greene, Jon Bernthal, and Martin Senmeier (“Magnificent Seven”). A sequel is now moving forward called “Wind River: The Next Chapter,” which will see Sensmeier’s character Chip Hanson—a lost drug addict in the original and the son of Gil Birmingham’s character— reformed and taking a lead role. Kari Skogland (“The Falcon & The Winter Soldier,” “The Handmaid’s Tale”) is also over directing duties from Sheridan, who is not involved in this follow-up film.
More names have been added to the call sheet as Aussie actor Jason Clarke (“Zero Dark Thirty,” “Public Enemies”), Scott Eastwood (“Wrath of Man”), and Chaske Spencer (Marvel’s “Echo,” “The English”) have officially joined the sequel. It’s unclear if any other actors from the original pic will make a return as Renner, who played a lead in the original helping Olsen’s FBI Agent solve the murder of a local Indigenous woman, is still recovering from his brutal snowplowing accident. And given Sheridan’s not involved, many of them will unlikely return.
Castle Rock Entertainment also included the following logline for “Wind River: The Next Chapter”:
Terror has escalated on the reservation as a series of ritualistic murders remain unsolved. The FBI, therefore, enlists the aid of Chip Hanson, a newly minted tracker for the U.S. Fish & Game, who, on the heels of his appearance in Wind River, becomes embroiled in a desperate and dangerous fight between the authorities, a vigilante and the Reservation he calls home.
Production is currently underway in Calgary, Alberta, a prime Canadian location that had been recently used for the hit HBO series “The Last of Us” and could easily double the beautiful rural landscapes of Wyoming for exterior shots. They’re also expected to wrap up filming by the end of April. The sequel’s script was penned by Patrick Massett and John Zinman, who have credits that include “Gold” and Angelina Jolie’s “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.” Given Sheridan’s ever-growing television empire, we’re not terribly shocked that he’s not more creatively involved with “Wind River: The Next Chapter.” But from the jump, it sounded like the producers just took it in their own direction. But that doesn’t mean Skogland can’t deliver an equally intriguing thriller herself.