Sam Elliott and Billy Bob Thornton’s upcoming collaboration inLandmanseason 2 will excitingly differ from their previous Western team-ups. Both actors are legends in their own right.Sam Elliott’s best movies and TV shows are Westerns, which capitalize on Elliott’s gritty yet sophisticated chops.Billy Bob Thornton’s best moviesshow the actor’s wide range. Still, few of Thornton’s performances rival his prowess in Taylor Sheridan’s oil drama,Landman,which premiered on Paramount+ in November 2024 and garnered immediate success.
Landmanseason 1tells the story of Billy Bob Thronton as Tommy Norris. InLandman’s first ten episodes, we witness the tribulations of Norris’ career as a fixer for M-TEX oil company, putting out fires, sometimes literally, for Monty Miller (John Hamm), who runs the small-scale oil business. However,Landmanseason 2is set to become even more exciting, with Sam Elliott joining the cast for the show’s sophomore run. The stars have acted together in several other Western productions, which improves the prospect, andLandmanseason 2 can build on Elliott and Thornton’s previous collaborations.
Landman Is Sam Elliott & Billy Bob Thornton’s First Modern-Day Collaboration After 1883 & Tombstone
Tombstone And 1883 Both Take Place In The 19th Century
When Sam Elliott and Billy Bob Thornton appear onscreen together forLandmanseason 2, it will be in a modern-day setting, contrasting with their previous collaborations.BeforeLandman,the actors appeared together in1883,Taylor Sheridan’s earliestYellowstoneprequel, a Western period set in the titular year. Elliott and Thornton also appear together inTombstone,which is considered one of theall-time best Western movies based on real events. The 1993 film follows Kurt Russell as Wyatt Earp and Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday. Elliott plays Virgil Earp, Wyatt’s brother, and Thornton plays Johnny Tyler.
While Landman’s characters live in present-day Midland, Texas, there is no lack of lawlessness, moral ambiguity, and other Western aspects.
WithTombstonetaking place in 1879, Elliott and Thornton’s previous collaborations are rooted in the past.Landmanseason 2 can get the actors onscreen together in the modern era, adding an exciting new element to their shared work. It will be fascinating to see Elliott’s character plug into Tommy’s modern-day drama, complete with controversy from his ex-wife, Angela (Ali Larter), and his daughter, Ainsley (Michelle Rudolph). Still, whileLandman’s characterslive in present-day Midland, Texas, there is no lack of lawlessness, moral ambiguity, and other Western aspects. So, the actors will maintain a key element of their shared screen presence.
Landman Has To Make Up For A Missed Opportunity From Both 1883 & Tombstone
Sam Elliott And Billy Bob Thornton Need More Shared Screentime In Landman Season 2
Aside from getting their characters out of the past,casting Sam Elliott forLandmanseason 2can improve a key aspect of Elliott and Billy Bob Thornton’s other Western performances. While the actors have shared screen time in both1883andTombstone,their appearances together are brief.In1883,Thornton is in the premiereepisode. Billy Bob’s character, Marshal Jim Courtright, helps Elliott’s Shea Brennan track down a group of thieves at a Fort Worth, Texas, saloon. While Courtright and Brennan have a memorable bit of classic Western gunslinging between them, Shea takes off with a wagon train of emigrants on the Oregon Trail afterward.
The Western actors have even less time together inTombstone’s story, sharing only one scene. Thornton’s Johnny Tyler is a card dealer at a saloon, and Russell’s Wyatt Earp gets a cut of the earnings by scaring Tyler, unwanted at the saloon, out of his job. Johnny then confronts Earp in the street, but stops when he sees Kilmer’s Doc Holiday, who scares him out of his next move. Elliott and Thornton share the screen inTombstonefor a matter of moments, and they don’t directly interact. Therefore,their team-up in1883was already an improvement.
Landmanseason 2 can make the pairing the best it’s ever been by putting the actors side by side together in a neo-Western modern setting. After teaming up in Fort Worth in1883,Elliott and Thornton would return to Texas forLandman,and Taylor Sheridan hopefully intends to build on their previous performances again. My hope for Elliott’sLandmanperformance is that his character is in the thick of the West Texas oil patches, somehow working alongside Thornton, where their gritty, Wild West demeanors can shine in a modern, yet no less hostile and ruthless, setting.
Landman
Cast
Set in West Texas, this series explores the world of oil rigs and the fortunes they create. It portrays a modern upstairs/downstairs narrative of roughnecks and billionaires, highlighting the profound impact on the climate, economy, and geopolitics in these boomtowns.
