The King of Paramount is switching teams. Taylor Sheridan is heading back to the big screen — and this time, he’s bringing one of his Yellowstone universe stars with him. After nearly a decade in development limbo, Sheridan’s long-gestating action thriller F.A.S.T. is officially back on track at Warner Bros., with 1923 breakout Brandon Sklenar set to lead the charge. The film is currently slated for a theatrical release on April 23, 2027.
Joining Sheridan behind the camera is Ben Richardson, the director of photography for Beasts of the Southern Wild and The Fault in Our Stars, as well as the lead director on 1923. Richardson will be making his feature directorial debut on F.A.S.T., reuniting with Sklenar after their work on the Yellowstone prequel series. Originally penned by Sheridan in the mid-2010s, F.A.S.T. centers on a former special forces commando, now down on his luck after returning home, who is recruited by the DEA to lead a black ops strike team against CIA-protected drug dealers operating in his town. If that sounds like a morally complex powder keg of explosive action and conflicting loyalties — well, that’s Sheridan’s specialty.
What Is ‘F.A.S.T.’ About?
The road to F.A.S.T. has been anything but… well, fast. The script was originally acquired by Warner Bros. back in 2018, during Sheridan’s post-Sicario and Hell or High Water ascent. At one point, Chris Pratt was circling the lead role and Gavin O’Connor (Warrior) was set to direct. But amid a changing corporate landscape — and the emergence of streaming as a dominant force — the $60–$70 million project was deemed too costly for theatrical and too big for HBO Max.
Warner Bros. ultimately put the film into turnaround. Amazon briefly picked it up for streaming, but it languished there until the rights lapsed — which opened the door for a revival at Warner Bros. Discovery, now back in the theatrical game under CEO David Zaslav.
Of course, there was one massive wrinkle: Taylor Sheridan is currently under an exclusive overall deal with Paramount, where he’s been churning out hits like Yellowstone, 1883, 1923, Tulsa King, Lioness, and Landman. But with Zaslav reportedly making F.A.S.T. a personal priority, dealmaking is now in the final stages to allow Sheridan a deal to serve as screenwriter and producer on the project — with his Bosque Ranch Productions expected to join the producing team.
“The breadth of Taylor Sheridan’s body of work is simply astounding and unparalleled in sheer excellence and consistent quality,” Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group heads Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy said in a joint statement. “With the hugely talented director Ben Richardson behind the camera and the exceptional producing talents of Heyday Films and Bosque Ranch, we are thrilled to have such an incredible creative team bringing F.A.S.T. to the big screen.”
via Collider