FX's new Justified plans are, justifiably, exciting, but the series revival will never work without Walton Goggins' Boyd Crowder. As first exclusively reported by Variety in March 2021, a return to the world of Justified has been slated for production by FX, with the new limited series inspired by the Elmore Leonard novel “City Primeval: High Noon in Detroit.” Leonard also created the character of U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens, with The Mandalorian inductee Timothy Olyphant now also confirmed to reprise the role of the iconic lawman sometime in 2023.
Snowfall's Dave Andron and Sneaky Pete's Michael Dinner will serve as writers, showrunners, and executive producers on the new series now officially titled Justified: City Primeval in reverence to the late Leonard himself. The Justified revival returns to find a world-weary Givens in Miami, balancing his life between his career and being a present father to his 14-year-old daughter. However, Raylan is forced to return to his cutthroat old ways after the emergence of a vicious outlaw known as The Oklahoma Wildman threatens the security and peace he has so fleetingly discovered in Miami.
Yet despite Olyphant reprising one of his most beloved roles and a gripping new premise, Justified's Raylan Givens revival can never work without Walton Goggins' simultaneous return to the series. Boyd Crowder's story is so intrinsically linked to Given's narrative that it seems almost unthinkable to omit his character, despite no word on Goggins' return to date. Fundamentally, the character of Boyd is so popular with the Justified fan base to this day that not including him would serve as a distraction to the new story Andron and Dinner are attempting to tell.
While Boyd Crowder was initially introduced during Justified season 1 as a bit-part, low-level criminal for Givens to deal with, he grew immensely in stature across Justified's subsequent five seasons. Raylan and Boyd's rich backstory working in Harlan County's coal mines added real substance and depth to the pair's relationship, and as a result, gave their subsequent battles genuinely high stakes. In many ways, Boyd became Raylan's Achilles Heel over the course of Justified's initial five-year run by bailing out his old friend more times than he cared to count - ensuring the season 6 finale's emotional impact hit Justified audiences even harder.
Although Justified season 6 ended with Boyd imprisoned for his lengthy criminal career, his final scene to date is a scant excuse against bringing back Goggins' immensely popular character. While plot details remain relatively scarce on Justified: City Primeval's exact narrative wrinkles, it seems as if The Oklahoma Wildman will pose the greatest threat since Sam Elliot's Avery Markham to an aging Raylan Givens. Naturally, then, this sets up a poignant opportunity for Boyd Crowder to return to the series and once again team up with Raylan to take down a threat to society greater than himself.
Narrative weight aside, not seeing Boyd Crowder in the Justified revival would be jarring to long-time fans of the series. Timothy Olyphant understandably takes many plaudits for his portrayal of Givens, but Walton Goggins also adds a dimension to his character, backed up by his Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series from 2012. There are many reasons to be quietly excited for Justified's limited revival series, but these will quickly evaporate should Walton Goggins' Boyd not be included in the project.