Netflix's list of original programming continues to expand with new films and TV shows announced almost every week — the latest being The Harder They Fall, featuring a new trailer that teases a star-studded Western from the streaming service. The film is directed by Jeymes Samuel, who also wrote the action-packed flick with Boaz Yakin. The Harder They Fall boasts an interesting mix of producers as well, such as legendary film producer Lawrence Bender and rapper Jay-Z.
The Harder They Fall features an absolute ton of fun Western monikers for our characters and follows our hero Nat Love as he rounds up his old crew when his former enemy is released from prison. Those joining him include his former lover Stagecoach Mary, hot-tempered Bill Pickett, and fast drawing Jim Beckwourth. Love is up against Rufus Buck and his own band of criminals, like “Treacherous” Trudy Smith and Cherokee Bill. The stacked cast includes Jonathan Majors, Zazie Beetz, Delroy Lindo, LaKeith Stanfield, Damon Wayans Jr., Regina King, and Idris Elba.
And the trailer showcases this immense talent beautifully, reveling in all the fun that only the Western genre can provide. Samuel expertly combines Western tropes like sharpshooting and train hijacking with a modern twist and dynamic action sequences. The all-black cast itself is a spin on the genre, which has historically been one of the more white and racist styles of filmmaking. The trailer also gives me a little bit of The Magnificent Seven vibes, the 2016 remake directed by Antoine Fuqua and starring Denzel Washington. The Magnificent Seven was actually a more straightforward by-the-numbers Western, and it seems as though The Harder They Fall may deviate and upset the generic conventions instead of adhering to them.
Director Samuel is best known for his music production career, and is making the jump to film with his directorial debut. He worked with Jay-Z on the music for The Great Gatsby, and is also known by his singer-songwriter stage name The Bullitts. Jay-Z's production company is certainly ramping up with some hot new projects in the next few years, including an anthology series about important women in the Civil Rights movement called Women of the Movement. He is also producing an untitled Emmett Hill movie, about the 14-year-old black boy who was lynched in 1955. Both he and Forest Whitaker are also producing a Richard Pryor biopic from writer-director Kenya Barris, which will chronicle the life of the famous comedian.
The Harder They Fall will premiere this fall in select theaters and on Netflix. Check out the first trailer and more images below.
