'Deadwood' Movie Reportedly In The Works At HBO; How Did The TV Show End?

Go west, young man! It has been almost a decade since fans have seen Al Swearengen and his Gem Saloon in action in the mining town of Deadwood -- and it's been almost 150 years since the actual Swearengen oversaw the bar and brothel in real life -- but the delicious villain could soon return. HBO is reportedly looking into developing a feature film continuation of "Deadwood," which it canceled after its third season in 2006, news that is sure to excite its cult following.

According to Variety, a spokesman for HBO has confirmed that the premium cable network has begun “very preliminary discussions” about bringing back the cult classic western series for a film continuation. Rumors have swirling since 2008 that "Deadwood" could return via either an abbreviated fourth season or a movie, but they reached fever pitch recently when actor Garret Dillahunt, who played Francis Wilcott on the series, started tweeting to put the pressure on HBO.

Last fans saw of "Deadwood," Al Swearengen (Ian McShane) had just finished his fight with mining mogul George Hearst (Gerald McRaney) to keep control over the frontier town. The feud ended when Trixie (Paula Malcomson) shot and wounded Hearst, enraging the crooked businessman. The always cunning Swearengen appeased Hearst by killing a prostitute named Jen (Jen Lutheran) and convincing him the dead woman was Trixie. In the last shot of the season, and effectively the series, Al was shown cleaning up blood stains from Jen's murder off of the floor. Meanwhile, Hearst rode out of town, just barely ahead of a vengeful Seth Bullock (Timothy Olyphant), who had to be restrained from shooting Hearst.

Where would "Deadwood" pick up if it returned for a movie? Fans will have to wait to find out.