There has been talk for a long time now that a Red Dead Redemption series could be in the works. All of the news we have in regards to this is either sparse or rumors so it’s not really clear if this is something that’s actually happening.
The Red Dead franchise has spawned 3 games;
- Red Dead Revolver (2004)
- Red Dead Redemption (2010)
- Red Dead Redemption 2 (2018)
I’m going to be brutally honest from the beginning, I never played Revolver (I was 10 years old when it was released). However, judging by comments I’ve read it doesn’t play a true part in its predecessors except the odd NPC mention. It’s the predecessors here that matter as the Redemption series is where Red Dead truly exploded in the franchise.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is the prequel to Red Dead Redemption which is where a series could do well here. We’ve had some enjoyable video game series that followed the lore correctly such as Last of Us and Fallout. Red Dead could follow in the footsteps of those too.
If a series were ever to happen it would need to follow the events of the games including Arthur Morgan and John Marston. The games are lengthy which is why a series would be preferred over a movie.
We could have a season 1 focusing on Arthur Morgan and the events of the second game leading into another season focusing on the events of John Marston allowing creativity in between and also before. It’s only ever spoken about what happened in Blackwater prior to the events of the second game so this could allow some creativity.
Rockstar have always done a wonderful job with their stories creating these oddly realistic outlooks, especially in the Red Dead games. If you haven’t played the games before then a spoiler is incoming.
For an example of realism, Arthur Morgan suffers from Tuberculosis as the game progresses. From my research, it appears Arthur’s struggle with the illness throughout the game was pretty accurate. It’s also an incredibly sad moment when Arthur does eventually succumb to his illness (or shot depending on how you play the game).
I recently went back to play Red Dead Redemption 2 (which spawned the reasoning behind this article) and despite the game being over 6 years old, it played a lot better than some of the AAA games released in the last couple of years. In fact, it played way better. This is Rockstar though, they put thought and care into their games giving players one hell of an experience.
Those who aren’t gamers or have never played the series could benefit from a series like this because the story is so well-told. The action is incredible and the constant suspense would be fantastic for a TV series viewer. Even for me, I’m not a fan of the Wild West, Cowboys, or Outlaws. It’s never interested me but Red Dead Redemption does a great job introducing me into a genre I don’t care for but making me love it. It’s only Rockstar who could do that.
It’s also one of those series that doesn’t offer a happy ending. Arthur Morgan who you play as in the second game who you love and appreciate dies. In the first game, you play as John Marston who also dies after you come to love him. Both of these characters are interlinked as they’re originally part of the game gang that causes chaos everywhere they go.
Imagine watching the gang complete bank heists, train robberies, and full-on gun fights in live-action. It would be so entertaining but it would need to be done right. There’s been a few actors who’ve been posed to play certain characters like Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Dutch Van Der Linde.
If Rockstar remains heavily involved and whichever Director took the reigns managed to make a series true to the games then I see no reason why this couldn’t be a huge hit for any studio involved in making it. I also firmly believe a Red Dead series would work better than a Grand Theft Auto series only because the 2 Red Dead games link, the GTA series switches stories every game albeit a few side characters.
Make it happen, Rockstar, please.
