MOVIE NEWS – It’s official: a third Young Guns movie is on the way. Emilio Estevez is stepping back into his iconic role as Billy the Kid, while also taking the director’s chair for the long-awaited continuation of the beloved western saga. After 35 years, the gang is getting back together — but things are bound to look a little different this time.

Production on Young Guns 3: Dead or Alive is slated to kick off in Fall 2025 in New Mexico, the same state where the original films were shot. Estevez will be joined once again by Lou Diamond Phillips and Christian Slater, who are both confirmed to reprise their roles. According to reports, the sequel will introduce new faces while continuing the story of the original Regulators — only now, they’re not so young anymore.

The Story: A New Generation of Lawmen Rises

Set just before the Mexican Revolution, the film will see the aging gunslingers mentoring a younger group of fighters, primarily Latino and Indigenous characters. Estevez hinted that the new chapter will blend action-packed western storytelling with real historical events, featuring figures like a young Pancho Villa.

“Young Guns 3: Dead or Alive plays with the idea of whether Billy the Kid is truly dead or still out there,” Estevez teased. “There’s even a nod to Jon Bon Jovi’s classic track ‘Wanted Dead or Alive,’ connecting back to the earlier films.”

The plot will dive into the darker sides of the borderlands during this era, touching on issues like human trafficking, the exploitation of orphaned children, and political intrigue involving German agents supplying weapons and gold to Villa’s revolutionaries while spying on the United States. Against this backdrop, Billy the Kid finds himself training a new wave of freedom fighters in a brutal and chaotic world on the brink of war.

Though the project is still in its early stages, excitement is already building among fans eager to see Estevez back in the saddle. With production gearing up and a cast ready to ride again, Young Guns 3 promises to bring the old spirit of the West roaring back to life — with a few unexpected twists along the way.

Source: MovieWeb