The Outlaw Josey Wales is one of Clint Eastwood’s finest Westerns – and it has a sequel that almost nobody has heard of. Westerns used to be one of the most popular genres in Hollywood, but around the start of the ’60s, their popularity began to decline rapidly. Eastwood himself was one of the last major movie stars to make his name off the back of the genre, thanks to the Dollars trilogy and dark Western Hang ‘Em High. Eastwood would go on to star in and direct many other “Oaters,” capping off his run with 1992’s Unforgiven.
Unforgiven is considered the best Clint Eastwood Western, but The Outlaw Josey Wales comes in pretty close. This Civil War-era adventure was also helmed by Eastwood, with his titular gunslinger being chased by bounty hunters and Union soldiers while forging a makeshift family around himself. The Outlaw Josey Wales has all the action and tough guy dialogue of a classic Clint Western, but it also contains a surprisingly emotional story and features one of Eastwood’s most nuanced performances. Eastwood himself has stated The Outlaw Josey Wales is one of the movies he gets asked the most about.
Why Clint Eastwood Passed On The Return Of Josey Wales
There aren’t many Clint Eastwood franchises to speak of, as the screen icon tended to avoid sequels. That said, for a time he did consider adapting the follow-up novel The Vengeance Trail of Josey Wales, before ultimately passing. This could be due to the controversy surrounding the author of the original book, Asa Earl Carter. Carter wrote under the pen name Forrest Carter and won acclaim for books like The Rebel Outlaw: Josey Wales, but around the time of the movie adaptation’s release, it was revealed Forrest wasn’t actually a Cherokee author, but a pro-segregationist, former Ku Klux Klansman from Alabama.
He also penned Governor George Wallace’s notorious “Segregation Now! Segregation Forever!” speech. Carter managed to keep his history of virulent white supremacy a secret when he embarked on his literary career as “Native American” author Forrest. Nobody involved with The Outlaw Josey Wales film had any idea of Carter’s past when it was in production, but a 1976 New York Times article later revealed Forrest and Asa were the same person. Maybe this was what turned Eastwood away from a Josey Wales sequel, with Carter being quoted in 1978 (via Salon) as saying of a possible sequel “I think Clint’s had all he can take ‘a me.”
The Return Of Josey Wales Is A Terrible Sequel
The Outlaw Josey Wales ends on an ambiguous note, suggesting the title character might be dying of his wounds as he rides off. Even admirers of the movie may not know about The Return Of Josey Wales, the 1986 adaptation of Carter’s sequel novel. Michael Parks (From Dusk Till Dawn) both starred in and helmed this belated follow-up, which finds a retired Josey living with his wife Laura and their new baby when he has to mount up and head to Mexico to avenge some murdered friends.
Parks may have been a great actor, but The Return Of Josey Wales is a just cheap cash-in on the original movie. It falls short in just about every possible way, being a drab, thrill-free affair that’s badly hampered by a low-budget and poor production values. The Return Of Josey Wales is barely recognizable as a direct follow-up either, with Parks’ Josey baring little resemblance to Clint Eastwood’s take. The Return Of Josey Wales has been largely forgotten since its debut, which is unlikely to change.