Timothy Olyphant and Walton Goggins Both 'Interested' in Continuing 'Justified'

"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links."

This summer, the return of the popular TV series Justified via FX's limited series Justified: City Primeval left us with one heck of a cliffhanger. While Timothy Olyphant reprised his role as U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens, Walton Goggins as everybody's favorite villain, Boyd Crowder, was conspicuously absent—that is, until the second half of the finale when his surprise prison break had us jumping out of our seats.

Since the last episode left the door wide open for the story to continue, you might be wondering if there will be a new season of Justified. Showrunners Michael Dinner and Dave Andron recently dished on this topic to Entertainment Weekly, and apparently it's entirely in the network's hands. "Walton's interested, and Tim's interested, and we think there's another chapter in Raylan's life, but what are the needs of FX?" Dinner said.

(Side note: This scenario is the opposite of what happened in 2015 when the original Justified ended after six seasons. Back then, it was creator Graham Yost and Olyphant, both executive producers, who decided to end the show on their own terms, while FX wanted more.)

If FX does give the green light for a new Justified series, this summer's limited series fully set the stage for a final showdown between Raylan and Boyd, both sons of the Kentucky hollers who walk on opposite sides of the law.

Take the conclusion of the original Justified, which we previously thought was neatly wrapped up with a bow. Boyd is sent to prison. Ava disappears, and when Raylan tracks her down, she is raising Boyd's child—a child he doesn't know he has. To keep Ava's secret safe, Raylan visits Boyd in prison and tells him Ava is dead. But if Boyd were to discover that Ava is alive and he is a father? "That is epic story fodder for Boyd to find that out," Andron told EW.

Now, at the end of Justified: City Primeval, Raylan retires from the U.S. Marshall Service in Miami in order to spend more time with his teen daughter, Willa (played by Vivian Olyphant). However, when the call comes in that Boyd has escaped, we're left wondering if Raylan will answer. (He and Willa do seem pretty bored with his new, slower lifestyle, after all.)

If you're curious why Boyd wasn't in the Justified reboot to begin with, you're not alone. The decision was a major point of division among fans in social media comment sections, but Justified: City Primeval was a bit of an outlier. Like the first show, it was based on a novel by Elmore Leonard, but the particular source book, City Primeval, was not originally a Raylan Givens story.

In Justified's version of City Primeval, a fateful encounter on the road sends Raylan on a detour to Detroit and his character replaces Detective Raymond Cruz (the main character in the book). There is an all-new cast, and Boyd literally doesn't fit in the plot—that is, until the end. Dinner told EW that Boyd's return serves to "amplify Raylan's complication" about whether to answer the call and come out of retirement or not.

FX willing, we might get to find out.

All episodes of Justified and Justified: City Primeval are available to stream on Hulu.

You Might Also Like

• 70 Impressive Tiny Houses That Maximize Function and Style

• 30+ Paint Colors That Will Instantly Transform Your Kitchen