Perhaps it’s a sign of the times that the Western genre has had such a massive resurgence. Many American viewers seem to be yearning for a bygone era, and shows like Taylor Sheridan‘s Yellowstone deliver that nostalgia. Released in 2018, Yellowstone launched a new wave of interest in Westerns, led by its own spin-offs and a string of lavishly produced movies and shows from other studios. The decade leading up to Yellowstone‘s release was rather quiet on the Western front, although there were a handful of movies that managed to break through. They were invariably directed by the Coen Brothers or Quentin Tarantino. However, another critically acclaimed filmmaker was on the verge of making a Western before a decision she made fueled one of the biggest production controversies of the past couple of decades.

In 2012, Natalie Portman boarded the project along with director Lynne Ramsay. The movie in question was based on a Black List script by Brian Duffield. In the subsequent years, Joel Edgerton, Jude Law, and Michael Fassbender signed on to play supporting roles. The movie was set to be shot by the renowned cinematographer Darius Khondji, who worked with David Fincher on Se7en and more recently with Josh Safdie on Marty Supreme. However, on the day that filming was supposed to begin, Ramsay failed to show up on set. It was announced that she had quit the production, which prompted Khondji and Law to back out as well. Gavin O’Connor was hired as Ramsay’s replacement, with Portman’s Star Wars co-star Ewan McGregor stepping in to play the role vacated by Law.

Natalie Portman’s Western Has a Notorious Production History

The movie in question, Jane Got a Gun, was eventually released in 2016 after numerous delays. It received mixed reviews and underperformed at the box office. Jane Got a Gun is now sitting at a 42% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics’ consensus reads, “Jane Got a Gun flounders between campy Western and hard-hitting revisionist take on the genre, leaving Natalie Portman’s committed performance stranded in the dust.” The movie grossed only $3.8 million worldwide against a reported budget of $25 million. However, according to FlixPatrol, it was resurrected by fans this week, more than a decade after its disastrous theatrical run. Jane Got a Gun emerged as one of the most-watched movies on the global HBO Max chart. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.