Long-awaited sequel to modern classic thriller gets exciting update from star

The actor told JOE that though the sequel had been 'tied up in legalities', he believes it will be coming out 'pretty soon'.

The original film was written and directed by Taylor Sheridan, who penned the screenplays for Hell or High Water and Sicario and also created the hit shows 1883, 1923, Landman, Lioness and Yellowstone.

The third part of an unofficial trilogy exploring the modern-day American frontier, after Sicario and Hell or High Water, Wind River starred Jeremy Renner as a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Agent who teams up with an FBI agent (Elizabeth Olsen).

This is to investigate the killing of an 18-year-old woman named Natalie Hanson (Kelsey Asbille) on a Native American reservation in snowy Wyoming.

Wind River was not only a hugely gripping mystery thriller with a unique and cinematic location, but it also importantly helped raise awareness about the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women in the US and Canada.

Acclaimed by critics and also a big box office hit, a sequel was announced in 2022.

Kari Skogland (Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Fifty Dead Men Walking) was confirmed to be directing the follow-up from a script by John Zinman and Patrick Massett (Gold).

Olsen and Renner will not be appearing in Wind River: The Next Chapter, with the film switching focus to Chip Hanson (Martin Sensmeier, reprising his role), the brother of the murdered Natalie.

The plot synopsis for the sequel reads:

"Terror has escalated on the Wind River reservation as a series of ritualistic murders remain unsolved.

The FBI, therefore, enlists the aid of Chip Hanson, a newly minted tracker for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, who becomes embroiled in a desperate and dangerous fight between the authorities, a vigilante and the Reservation he calls home."

Gil Birmingham will also be reprising his role from Wind River in the follow-up.

New cast members, meanwhile, include Alan Ruck (Succession), Chaske Spencer (The English), Kali Reis (True Detective: Night Country), Scott Eastwood (Wrath of Man), Tatanka Means (Killers of the Flower Moon), as well as Jason Clarke (Oppenheimer).

Wind River: The Next Chapter Update

JOE recently spoke to Clarke as he was promoting his excellent new true crime drama series on Disney+, Murdaugh: Death in the Family.

You can read about that show and how the Australian actor physically transformed himself to portray the real-life person Alex Murdaugh right here.

Towards the end of the conversation, we asked him about the status of Wind River: The Next Chapter.

Though the sequel finished filming in 2023, a release date has still not been set. On top of this, there hasn't even been a trailer for the follow-up.

Clarke had some good news for Wind River fans, however. He told JOE that though the sequel had been "tied up in legalities", he believes it will be coming out "pretty soon".

Here's what he said to us about Wind River: The Next Chapter:

"I think it's going to come out pretty soon. It was tied up in legalities with [production company] Castle Rock.

"But they shot it at the same time as Spinal Tap II [which came out in cinemas in September 2025]. So, I think it's about to come out soon.

"It's a beautiful film centred around Martin Sensmeier, an extraordinary actor.

"Hopefully, it'll get out there, sooner rather than later."

F.A.S.T.

Clarke will also be appearing in another project connected to Taylor Sheridan.

This is F.A.S.T., a film about a former special forces commando (Brandon Sklenar, 1923) who, down on his luck after returning Stateside, is recruited by the DEA.

This is to lead a covert black ops team to take down CIA-protected drug dealers.

Set for a release in 2027, Sheridan penned the screenplay for the movie, with his frequent collaborator Ben Richardson (1883) directing.

Speaking about F.A.S.T. to JOE, Clarke told us: "It's set in the world of cartels and drugs.

"I've shot my thing of that. It's fast, it's action packed."

The first three episodes of Murdaugh: Death in the Family are streaming on Disney+ now. The rest of its eight-episode season will drop weekly on Wednesdays.