The Regulators are together again — and fans couldn’t be more excited.
On Saturday, September 12, the entire original cast of “Young Guns” reunited for a panel at the Fan Expo in Dallas, Texas.
Given the success that the stars of the 1988 western have achieved in the decades since, reunions have been rare.
The Regulators Ride Again
Lou Diamond Phillips (who played Jose Chavez y Chavez) shared a photo on social media of himself and co-stars Emilio Estevez (William H. Bonny), Kiefer Sutherland (Doc Scurlock), Charlie Sheen (Dick Brewer), Dermot Mulroney (Dirty Steve Stephens) and Casey Siemaszko (Charley Bowdre).
“F’ing Epic!” Phillips wrote in the caption.
The Gang’s All Here
Mulroney also got into the action, posting a photo of himself and his co-stars, with the addition of actors Terry O’Quinn (who played Alex McSween) and Geoffrey Blake (J. McCloskey), along with “Young Guns” screenwriter John Fusco.
“38 years later #youngguns rides again – PALS,” wrote Mulroney.
An Enduring Classic
Released in 1998, “Young Guns” followed the exploits of Billy the Kid (Estevez) and his band of Regulators, who were deputized to track down the murderers of rancher John Tunstall (Terence Stamp), who’d been their employer and benefactor.
But when Billy and the Regulators declare all-out war against the ruthless rancher Lawrence Murphy (Jack Palance), their vendetta goes off the rails, and they find themselves the objects of the largest manhunt in the history of the American West.
A Casting Coup
In a 2023 interview with Yahoo! Entertainment, Estevez revealed that he was anxious to land the role of Billy the Kid in “Young Guns,” which he considered his dream role.
“At the time, I owned a house in Montana, so I was around horses and guns,” he recalled. “So for me, the opportunity to get on a horse and actually get paid for it, and play this historical character, [was great].”
There was, however, one not-so-small obstacle: the film’s director, Christopher Cain, already had another actor in mind for the role of William H. Bonny. Estevez, however, was undeterred, and pulled out all the stops in order to nab the part.
“I lobbied hard because I was not the first choice,” Estevez shared.
“The director was looking at a lot of other actors to play that role. I actually called the director who I knew I’d worked with before [on 1985’s ‘That Was Then… This Is Now’], and I said, ‘I was born to play Billy the Kid.’ And he says, ‘What do you mean?’ I said, ‘I was born to play this role, and you can go on and audition whomever you want.’ I said, ‘I’ll come in, I’ll audition, whatever you want, you’re going to end up casting me in this film,'” the actor continued.
“And he says, ‘Well, what about you playing Doc? You’re more of the sensitive guy. I’m really thinking about Kiefer Sutherland to play Billy.’ I said, ‘You got it the wrong way, bro. You got it the wrong way. Switch ’em,'” he added.
“And he did,” Estevez added. “Sorry Kiefer.”
