MGM+ is preparing a limited-run series reboot of the classic western.
Get ready to ride again with The Magnificent Seven.
More than 60 years after the theatrical release of director John Sturges’ classic western starring Yul Brynner and Steve McQueen, and almost a decade after the premiere of director Antoine Fuqua’s remake starring Denzel Washington, MGM+ has officially green-lit a limited-run series version of the story originally spun in Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai (1954)
According to reports from various showbiz-oriented websites, Tim Kring (Heroes, Crossing Jordan) will serve as executive producer for the new show alongside Donald De Line (Billy the Kid, Ready Player One), Lawrence Mirisch, and Bruce Kaufman. Production is slated to begin in June 2026. No casting announcements have yet been made.
Deadline reports: “The reboot is set in the tumultuous 1880s American frontier. After a peaceful Quaker village is massacred by mercenaries working for a greedy and ruthless land baron trying to force them off the land he covets, seven gifted but flawed mercenaries are hired by the community to protect them from the land baron’s hired guns.
“But as the team embeds itself in the community, preparing to defend them against overwhelming odds, they are all forced to grapple with an essential question: is the use of violence acceptable to defend a people whose faith is based on non-violence? The series takes a deep dive into the stories behind each of the seven — what’s at stake for them, and why they choose to take on this mission.”
“Tim Kring is a master storyteller,” says Michael Wright, head of MGM+. “Tim, Donald De Line, Larry Mirisch and Bruce Kaufman have crafted a series that delivers the energy of a classic western, honors the legacy of the original film, and reasserts its timeless themes of the power of unity against oppression and flawed heroes finding redemption by helping those who can’t help themselves.”
The original 1960 Magnificent Seven — which also starred Charles Bronson, James Coburn, Robert Vaughn, Horst Buchholz, and Brad Dexter — spawned three theatrical sequels: Return of the Seven (1966), in which Brynner reprised his role as gunfighter Chris Adams; Guns of the Magnificent Seven (1969), which had Oscar winner George Kennedy cast as Adams; and The Magnificent Seven Ride! (1972), with Lee Van Cleef in the lead role.
A prime-time series based on The Magnificent Seven ran for two seasons on CBS (1998-2000). Michael Biehn, Ron Perlman, Eric Close, Andrew Kavovit, Dale Midkiff, Anthony Starke, and Rick Worthy were the stars.
For the 2016 remake, Denzel Washington reunited with Training Day director Antoine Fuqua to ride alongside Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D’Onofrio, Lee Byung-hun (currently on view in the acclaimed Korean-produced dark comedy No Other Choice), Manuel García-Rulfo, and Martin Sensmeier (The Last Manhunt).
