5 Westerns To Watch If You Like The Yellowstone Spin-Off Marshals

After he was given one of the most satisfying endings of any main character in "Yellowstone," Luke Grimes' Kayce Dutton has been thrown straight back into the drama with "Marshals." This time, he's not only ranching and playing family man, but using his Navy SEAL training to bring range justice to Montana alongside a team of U.S. Marshals. The "Yellowstone" spin-off didn't get off to the best start when it killed Kayce's wife, Monica Dutton (Kelsey Asbille) off-screen, but it has potential and with CBS having already greenlit a second season, it's clearly popular. As such, you might well be looking for some Westerns to fill the void between the weekly episode release schedule.

"Marshals" episode 3 proved this show has no idea what it's about. Is it a grounded character study of a man torn between his professional and family life? Is it a crime thriller about a man desperately trying to cover up his family's dark past while simultaneously working for law enforcement? Or is it a story about loyalty and the ever-changing nature of the American landscape? It's not entirely clear, which is why it's both difficult and fairly easy to recommend Westerns in the same vein as the CBS series.

The varied nature of this show means it's inherently similar to several Westerns, so we've wrangled together a list of films that, taken as a whole, cover the most prominent themes and ideas in Kayce Dutton's latest outing. So pick whichever film is closest to the episode of "Marshals" you liked most, or, since they're all standouts, line 'em up and shoot 'em down one by one.

Handsome white guy rancher reels from tragedy in an inhospitable environment? What could be more like "Marshals" than that? In the CBS series, Kayce is recovering from the death of his wife and learning how to balance his career as a U.S. Marshal with his obligation to his son, Tate Dutton (Brecken Merrill), who somehow made it through "Yellowstone" without dying. In "Broke," Wyatt Russell's bareback bronco rider True Brandywine recovers from a brain injury sustained from years of riding Mustangs. Like Kayce, he too struggles with his commitment to family, most notably his father George Brandywine (Dennis Quaid), with whom he has a contentious relationship.

The film flashes back and forth between the present, wherein True is stranded in a snowstorm and has to rely on his own resourcefulness to survive, and the past which tells the story of his waning rodeo career (mirroring Russell's own hockey career, which was similarly cut short) and his increasingly fraught relationship with his father. We also see True strike up a relationship with the charming Ali (Auden Thornton) and do his best to act as a role model for his younger brother Caleb Brandywine (Johnny Berchtold).

Written and directed by Carlyle Eubank, the film is much more naturalistic than "Marshals," and has a strong American neorealist aesthetic that, at times, makes it feel as if Sean Baker or Jeff Nichols directed a Western. That sets it apart from Luke Grimes' CBS procedural, but the show and "Broke" are linked via their themes of family, tragedy, and their exploration of what it means to be a modern-day cowboy.

The movie that took Taylor Sherian from struggling actor to respected screenwriter and established Denis Villeneuve as a directing powerhouse is still just as good today as it was back in 2015. Though it's based around the War on Drugs rather than Montana range justice, "Sicario" shares a lot in common with "Marshals."

Aside from similarly depicting modern-day law enforcement officers using their military experience to hunt criminals, Sheridan's explanation of the themes in "Sicario" make it sound very similar to "Marshals." The writer told Variety that the movie tackled the "philosophical question of what is the rule of law? Who adheres to it and do the ends justify the means? What is the consequence of a consumer nation and that appetite?" This could easily form the basis of "Marshals," which often flirts with addressing similar questions via Kayce's involvement with the U.S. Marshals and his awareness of the terrible acts committed by many a Dutton on "Yellowstone."

Otherwise, "Sicario" is just always worth a rewatch, and is definitely worth a first watch if you're somehow yet to see this seminal crime thriller. Aside from showcasing Sheridan's knack for scintillating dialogue that somehow skirts the line between naturalism and absurdity, Villeneuve imbues the whole thing with a dark sense of foreboding that makes it an unforgettable experience. Emily Blunt might not be a handsome, stubbly cowboy but she's just as if not more compelling than Luke Grimes as the lead in this must-watch neo-Western crime thriller.  

If you haven't seen "Unforgiven" yet and you're watching "Marshals," do yourself a favor and tick this unimpeachable classic off your watch list. The epitome of a revisionist Western, Clint Eastwood's mournful yet violent 1992 Oater single-handedly deconstructs the myth of the Old West across 131 minutes. If the 1970s was when the traditional Western started to die, "Unforgiven" was the point at which it was taken off life support altogether, solidifying Eastwood's separation from directors like John Ford.

If that doesn't sound like much fun, it's not supposed to be. But, "Unforgiven" should have you transfixed from the very beginning thanks to its performances, writing, and its bold unwillingness to show reverence for the classic ideal of the Old West. Clint Eastwood's William Munny is, like Kayce Dutton himself, a widower dragged back into action after a gang of outlaws carve up a sex worker's face and her fellow brothel workers offer a hefty reward for their deaths.

When we first meet Munny, he's living a life not too dissimilar to Kayce's — working on his land to support his two children while haunted by his past and the terrible deeds he committed. The film's narrative also sees Munny team up with Morgan Freeman's Ned Logan, a friend and fellow reformed criminal, as well as Jaimz Woolvett's ambitious wannabe bounty hunter the Schofield Kid. Together, the gang hunt down the outlaws and while they might not be the elite strike force represented by Kayce and his crew, the dynamics between the trio aren't too far removed from those of the U.S. Marshals in the CBS series. Regardless, you should watch "Unforgiven" just to be aware of the tradition upon which Luke Grimes' series is built.

Taylor Sheridan might not have much to do with "Marshals," beyond executive producing, but his shadow looms large over the CBS series. The "Yellowstone" creator handed writing and showrunning duties for the spin-off to "SEAL Team" showrunner Spencer Hudnut, which has made for an odd show wherein these well-known Sheridan creations are animated by the words of someone other than the prolific creator, who maintained fastidious control over the mothership series. As such, if you're missing some of that unmistakable Sheridan magic, then "Wind River" is an absolute must-watch.

We could have easily suggested "Hell or High Water," also penned by Sheridan. But there's a more haunting aspect to "Wind River," the "Yellowstone" creator's neo-Western crime thriller that was also his directorial debut (barring an early 2010s horror that Sheridan has played down in interviews). What's more, "Wind River" takes place on an Indian Reservation, which should immediately make it familiar to any "Yellowstone" or "Marshals" fans well acquainted with the Broken Rock Reservation — especially since Chief Thomas Rainwater himself, Gil Birmingham, features in the movie.

"Wind River" stars Jeremy Renner as U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service tracker Cory Lambert, who teams up with Elizabeth Olsen's FBI agent Jane Banner to solve a murder on the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming. It's one of the best things Sheridan has ever made, and along with "Marshals" episode 3, also happens to make a strong case for a never-realized "Yellowstone" spin-off.

Another unquestionable classic, "Tombstone" is ostensibly quite different from "Marshals." Whereas the majority of films on this list are certified neo-Western thrillers, "Tombstone" is set firmly in the Old West and doesn't feature as strong a revisionist ethos as some of the other entries on this list. But it is about deputy U.S. Marshals taking down a gang, which is essentially what "Marshals" is about (if the show could decide what it is, in fact, about).

Even if you're looking for something that matches the contemporary setting of "Marshals," you should give "Tombstone" a go. Aside from the fact it matches "Marshals" in terms of being about a group of legendary lawmen doing what they do best, it's also just one of the best Westerns of all time. Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer have never been better as Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday respectively, the frontier depicted in the film is immersive and captivating, and the shootouts are top notch, which is more than can be said for the action scenes in Luke Grimes' CBS procedural.

What's more, like Kayce Dutton, Wyatt Earp is just trying to live a quiet life when trouble comes calling. After the notorious Cowboy gang starts to terrorize the titular town, Wyatt is appointed a U.S. Marshal and gathers several of his friends together to rid Tombstone of the outlaws. It's about as close to "Marshals" as you'll get in the Old West, and well worth a watch if you're a fan of the CBS series, or y'know, great movies.