The iconic scene that famously ended John Wayne’s movie career came close to happening 26 years prior to The Shootist. After decades of great Western roles, John Wayne reunited with James Stewart for The Shootist in 1976. In addition to being his final film, The Shootist was marketed as such, and clearly designed to serve as a send-off for the Hollywood legend.

The Shootist said goodbye to John Wayne by telling a story about an aging gunslinger who seeks to avoid death by terminal illness by going out fighting. To this end, he lures multiple criminals to a saloon for a heated showdown at the end of The Shootist, under the ᴀssumption that at least one of them will be able to gun him down in the midst of combat.

In a surprising twist, John Wayne’s J.B. Books prevails over all his opponents, only to get sH๏τ in the back by the seemingly harmless, nameless bartender. It’s not the glorious death befitting a legend like Books (or Wayne, for that matter), but it reflects the realities of the time period.

Jimmy Ringo Faced The Same Fate As J.B. Books In The Gunfighter

Jimmy Ringo Was SH๏τ In The Back By A Glory-Seeking Gunslinger

What happened to John Wayne’s character in The Shootist flew in the face of what many had come to expect from a John Wayne Werstern, which is one of the reasons why it’s remembered as one of the most memorable movie endings in the history of the Western genre. But it would have seemed as unique had Wayne accepted the lead role in The Gunfighter.

Released in 1950, The Gunfighter was a black-and-white Western that starred Gregory Peck as Jimmy Ringo, a real-life Western outlaw. In the movie, Peck plays a fictionalized, aging version of Ringo on a quest for redemption as he tries to avoid the perils that come with being the best gunslinger in the West.

Like J.B. Books, Peck’s Ringo survives threats from those looking to prove they’re better than him, and is only taken down when his back is turned. At the end of The Gunfighter, Jimmy Ringo is sH๏τ in the back by an aspiring, young gunslinger named Bromley. In his dying moments, Ringo requests that Bromley be spared death so that he can learn what it’s like to be known as the best.

John Wayne Wanted To Play Jimmy Ringo In The Gunfighter

The Character Was Written With John Wayne In Mind

It’s worth noting that Gregory Peck was not the first choice for the role of Jimmy Ringo in The Gunfighter. Before the actor got the role, it was pitched to John Wayne by the writer, William Bowers, who wrote the script for the film (originally тιтled The Big Gun) with John Wayne being who he envisioned in the role of Jimmy Ringo [via TCM].

John Wayne was reportedly in favor of the idea, but an agreement was never reached because Wayne only offered the writer $10,000 for the script, which was less than what Bowers wanted for it. Unable to work anything out with Wayne, Bowers turned to 20th Century Fox and had the project greenlit, albeit with Gregory Peck playing Jimmy Ringo over John Wayne.

John Wayne didn’t forget that Bowers had told him that the Ringo role was written with him in mind, which led to a grudge that carried on for decades. As TCM explains, Wayne was critical of the finished product, arguing that Gregory Peck was miscast. Bowers has said that Wayne would bring up the issue each time they met after the film’s release.

Because Of The Shootist, It’s Probably A Good Thing That John Wayne Missed Out On Playing Jimmy Ringo

John Wayne Dying In A Movie Wouldn’t Have Had Any Symbolic Meaning In 1950

Based on the events that played out in The Gunfighter and what’s known about John Wayne’s thoughts on the subject, there’s a good chance that John Wayne’s involvement in The Shootist wouldn’t have happened if he had reached a deal with Bowers 26 years earlier.

As John Wayne: American by James S. Olson and Randy Roberts points out, the actor’s regrets about not playing Ringo factored into his decision to make The Shootist. It makes sense that, due to the roles being so similar, Wayne saw the film as a way to make up for a missed opportunity.

Considering that The Gunfighter’s take on Jimmy Ringo was meant to be played by the actor, there’s little doubt that the film would have made for a great John Wayne Western. But that happening would have reduced the necessity of The Shootist, as it would make J.B. Books’ death something the actor had already done.

With that in mind, it’s likely for the best that Gregory Peck – and not John Wayne – played Jimmy Ringo, as there’s no way that it could have carried the same level of emotional significance as The Shootist. The Gunfighter would have handed him an epic moment, but not one that was necessarily unforgettable or symbolic, given that Wayne’s career was nowhere near its endpoint in 1950.