I’m here with a simple plea to Kurt Russell – please put together the extended cut of Tombstone you once teased in 2019. Following its release in 1993, this Kurt Russell Western has come to be regarded as one of the best ever made. The film also suffered through a famously messy production, after the original director Kevin Jarre was fired.

By all accounts, it was Jarre’s incredible screenplay that lured such a great cast to Tombstone, including Russell, Sam Elliott, Michael Biehn, and Val Kilmer. The script featured great dialogue and characterization, and Russell himself dubbed Jarre’s version of Tombstone as the “Godfather of Westerns“ (via True West Magazine).

After Jarre was fired for working too slowly, it was up to Russell, as both star and producer, to salvage the production. He ripped 20 pages from the script, cut his role down to give the rest of the ensemble the spotlight, and worked tirelessly to keep the modestly-budgeted Western on track.

Tombstone is considered a classic now, but in a 2006 interview, Russell admitted that the film could have been a straight-up masterpiece. A lot of scenes were either deleted or dropped without being filmed, with the released version featuring a more action-packed tone than was originally intended.

A Gentle Plea To Kurt Russell To Put Together The “Godfather” Cut Of Tombstone

Russell spoke of “reconstructing” Tombstone in 2006

Russell once recalled going to bat for Jarre as director – despite the screenwriter’s lack of experience with such a big production. This quickly proved to be a mistake, as Jarre’s unwillingness to take advice from Tombstone’s cast and crew and micromanaging style eventually led to his exit.

It was from that point Russell had to wear many hats on Tombstone – on top of already wearing Wyatt Earp’s. He produced, wrote scenes – including the heartbreaking final moment between Wyatt and Doc – and was intimately involved in the directing too. Russell wasn’t as involved in the movie’s post-production, though he was given all the footage after its completion.

… Andy Vajna did give me the tape of everything on the movie, to, whenever I wanted to, to reconstruct the movie. The movie, what you saw, okay, is that movie. The movie is The Godfather—a Western Godfather. That’s how different that movie is from the one you saw.

Jarre did extensive research on Tombstone, right down to the choice of slang people used during that period. The original script gave every one of the sprawling cast of characters a moment to shine, but the story became more streamlined during editing.

Considering how acclaimed the film has become in the last 30 years, I’d like to (gently) request that Russell unearth the unused footage from Tombstone and restore the original vision for it. It wouldn’t be hard to find platforms interested in a longer cut, or even an edit that split the story into a miniseries.

What Was Cut From Tombstone

The women of Tombstone lost a lot of texture

Michael Biehn played Johnny Ringo in Tombstone and has been one of the most vocal about its messy production and what was taken out. On his podcast Just Foolin’ About with Michael Biehn – named after a Ringo line – he recalled a confrontation scene between Ringo and Charlton Heston as rancher Henry Hooker.

In this sequence, Ringo and his Cowboys head to Hooker’s farm looking for Earp, but Hooker eventually scares them off. Considering Heston barely appears in the final edit, Biehn was shocked this sequence was removed. The film also significantly cut down the role of Dana Delany as Wyatt’s love interest, Josephine.

Their romance was more developed as written and sH๏τ, and there was a deleted confrontation between Josephine and Wyatt’s girlfriend, Mattie (Dana Wheeler-Nicholson). There was also a whole love triangle subplot between her, Sheriff Behan (Jon Tenney), and Earp that’s only hinted at in the final version.

Another missing sequence involved one of the Cowboys stealing Wyatt’s horse, who later confronts their leader, Curly Bill (Powers Boothe) to get the animal back. The two even come to an agreement, with Wyatt asking Bill not to raise too much hell in town after his brother Virgil (Sam Elliott) becomes City Marshal.

That’s just a sampling of what was snipped from Tombstone, but there’s much more. Actors like Billy Zane, Jason Priestley and Robert John Burke had bigger roles in the screenplay but barely have any lines in the film, while the “Earp Vendetta Ride” is basically reduced to a montage when compared to Jarre’s screenplay.

Kurt Russell Allegedly Acted As Tombstone’s Ghost Director

George P. Cosmatos is credited as director on the final film

After Jarre departed, producers asked Russell himself to step into the director’s chair. Russell didn’t feel ready to ᴀssume that responsibility, but as he revealed to True West, he essentially ghost-directed the film through replacement director George P. Cosmatos (Cobra).

I said to George, “I’m going to give you a sH๏τ list every night, and that’s what’s going to be.” I’d go to George’s room, give him the sH๏τ list for the next day, that was the deal. “George I don’t want any arguments. This is what it is. This is what the job is.”

It’s worth noting that Russell has backed off from these ghost directing claims in recent interviews, while Kilmer and Biehn disputed his version of events. What everybody does acknowledge is that Russell’s Herculean behind-the-scenes efforts are what got the troubled project to the finishing line.

Why Kurt Russell Hasn’t Put Together An Extended Tombstone Cut Yet

Kurt Russell is a busy man

Despite the rise of director’s cuts or extended editions in recent decades, Russell’s musings that he might return to the editing room for Tombstone has yet to come to pᴀss. I’d be surprised if he hasn’t at least considered it, as Russell’s involvement with 1994’s Stargate prevented him being more involved in the movie’s post process.

I didn’t get a chance to edit the movie, which I thought was unfortunate because it could have been one of the greatest Westerns ever, ever, ever made. And it’s pretty damn good.

In the years since his 2006 interview about Tombstone, Russell has started his own wine label – which saw him take a five-year acting break – and starred in multiple Quentin Tarantino and Fast & Furious movies. In short, he’s a busy man, which is why a Tombstone extended cut hasn’t happened – yet.

’Cause I got a life. Someday I may do it. But I’d need to go back to the script, back to all my notes, have to find my notes—You know what I found the other day?—’cause I’m movin’ stuff—I found the last scene I wrote, the scene between Wyatt and Doc. The hospital scene.

Love for Tombstone has only grown in the 19 years since Russell last touched on reconstructing the film. I’m not alone when I say I’d love to see a proper, 3-hour + edit that was closer to Jarrie’s original script, and it would be fascinating to see what the deleted footage adds to the overall story.

Source: True West Magazine, Just Foolin’ About with Michael Biehn