Nic Pizzolatto’s Amazon Western Refashioned as ‘The Magnificent Seven’ TV Series

Lesley Goldberg
·2 min read
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Nic Pizzolatto is set to ride west again for The Magnificent Seven.

Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that the True Detective creator is refashioning his idea for an original Western drama into a series adaptation of the former MGM title that he rebooted in 2016. The project remains in development and has a series commitment penalty attached.

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As THR exclusively reported in March, Pizzolatto’s show is being fast-tracked by Nick Pepper, Amazon’s head of U.S. wholly owned series and development, who is considering the Western the streamer’s version of Paramount Network megahit Yellowstone.

Pizzolatto’s new Seven is described as being in the tradition of the great epics from the golden age of Westerns and revolves around an outlaw and his cohorts who unite a disparate band of fighters to defend a settlement of immigrant homesteaders in an open range war against cattle barons in central Texas.

The original idea was previously described as also in the tradition of ensemble Westerns, where larger-than-life characters rob, con and outsmart each other. It centered on a former outlaw who must reckon with a threat from his past in order to keep the life and family he has worked so hard to build. He sets out on an epic journey that unites a formidable gang of indelible figures to face an even greater danger, in an epic saga of adventure and romance that forces this former criminal to become the hero he’s been pretending to be.

Mark Johnson (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul) remains attached as an exec producer on Seven after he was also involved with the original idea. Lawrence Mirisch, the son of the original Seven exec producer Walter Mirisch, and Bruce Kaufman will also be credited as EPs. The series is being produced as an Amazon Studios original.

The shift to a remake of Seven comes as sources say Pepper is under pressure to deliver results (THR previously reported that the studio’s big swings were hampered by confusion and frustration). Pizzolatto and Pepper were said to have met about the original idea, but the conversation shifted to the showrunner’s work on the 2016 remake. Pizzolatto penned the screenplay alongside Richard Wenk and the film was produced by Sony and MGM. Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D’Onofrio, Lee Byung-hun, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Martin Sensmeier and Peter Sarsgaard starred in the feature that was directed by Antoine Fuqua. Sony distributed the feature.

Pizzolatto’s Seven also arrives as Amazon is looking to monetize its acquisition of MGM following its $8.5 billion deal that closed in March 2022.

Pizzolatto is repped by WME.

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