Updated

Updated · Fox News · Jul 29

Taylor Sheridan to Direct 2 Films Under NBCUniversal Deal as He Returns to Movies After 5 Years

Updated

Updated · Fox News · Jul 29

Taylor Sheridan to Direct 2 Films Under NBCUniversal Deal as He Returns to Movies After 5 Years

Q: Why are Andrew Lauren’s long-developing ideas suddenly timely enough to bring Taylor Sheridan back to the big screen now?

Andrew Lauren’s ideas are being revived now because the real world has moved closer to both stories, making them feel immediate rather than speculative. Lauren himself said advances in science and shifts in the political landscape “accelerate their path to realization.” In practical terms, *Capture the Flag* has become more timely because reusable spaceflight is no longer a distant concept. The race to build spacecraft that can repeatedly travel farther, including lunar missions, now mirrors intense competition among NASA, major private space companies and foreign programs. That makes its story about a NASA engineer, private money and moral compromise feel current. *Visalia* has gained relevance for a similar reason. Its plot turns on a Cuban émigré being pulled back by a major political change in Cuba. With migration, exile, sovereignty and the possibility of national transition remaining live international issues, the film’s themes of displacement, return and the cost of survival now land more sharply. Timing also matters on Sheridan’s side. His movie pipeline is reopening after years dominated by television, and his new NBCUniversal deal is expected to give him more room to write features again once his Paramount obligations ease. These projects were developed with Lauren before Sheridan became a TV empire-builder, so the combination of newly relevant subject matter and Sheridan’s renewed capacity to make films created the opening to finally move them forward.

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jul 29

Two new films — “Visalia” and “Capture the Flag” — are in development with Taylor Sheridan directing, marking his first movie work in five years.
The projects stem from concepts by producer Andrew Lauren and follow sharply different tracks: “Visalia” is a Cuba-set political drama, while “Capture the Flag” centers on a NASA engineer racing to build a reusable moon spacecraft.
Sheridan’s film return follows the NBCUniversal deal he signed last year, a move that will take him away from Paramount after his current agreement expires in 2028 and let him step back from television writing.
The shift broadens a career recently dominated by TV hits including “Yellowstone,” “1883,” “1923,” “Landman” and “Tulsa King”; release dates for the two movies have not been announced.