Steven Spielberg has revealed that his next film will be a Western, a genre he has long wanted to tackle, promising it will be free of stereotypes and tropes. The director made the announcement during a conversation at the SXSW festival in Austin on Friday.
“Can’t reveal anything right now, but I have a Western in development. And it kicks a**,” Spielberg said to applause, as reported by Deadline. “And it's gonna have horses. There will be guns. But there'll be no tropes, I can just tell you that. There are gonna be no stereotypes, no tropes.”
Spielberg has previously expressed interest in making a Western, telling The Hollywood Reporter last June that he had “an appetite for a Western” and that the genre “requires an operatic flair he hasn’t been able to crack”. In 2021, he told Yahoo that the Western was a genre he had not yet tackled, saying, “So who knows? Maybe I’ll be putting on spurs someday.”
During the same conversation, Spielberg subtly referenced Timothée Chalamet’s recent comments that “no one cares” about ballet or opera. Spielberg defended the arts, stating that communal experiences happen in movies, concerts, “and in ballet and opera, by the way,” adding, “We want that to be sustained. We want that to go forever.”
Spielberg also discussed his upcoming alien encounter film, Disclosure Day, based on his original idea and written by David Koepp. The film, starring Emily Blunt and Josh O’Connor, is set for release on 12 June next year.
