King Richard's Aunjanue Ellis and Logan's Boyd Holbrook have joined Timothy Olyphant in FX's upcoming Justified revival, Justified: City Primeval. FX announced the revival to the western crime drama in January 2022. The series sees the return of Olyphant's US Marshal Raylan Givens following the series' conclusion in 2015.
After seventy-eight episodes across six seasons of television, Justified came to an end in 2015, with Givens leaving Kentucky behind for Miami, choosing to be part of his daughter's life and keeping many secrets close to his chest by hiding the truth about Ava Crowder (Joelle Carter) from his once criminal rival, Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins). Critically acclaimed throughout its run and praised for its writing and casting, Justified's conclusion left both critics and original source material author Elmore Leonard satisfied, with there seemingly being no continuation in the foreseeable future when the finale aired on April 14, 2015. However, FX announced Justified would return in the form of a limited series back in January, with Olyphant set to both reprise his role and act as an executive producer. Now FX has revealed who will star alongside Olyphant in Justified: City Primeval.
As reported by Variety, eight new cast members of the upcoming Justified revival have been revealed, including Holbrook and Ellis. Adelaide Clements, Vondie Curtis Hall, Marin Ireland, Norbert Leo Butz, Victor Williams, and Vivian Olyphant will all join the cast. While most of the new roles are still being kept under wraps, Holbrook will play Clement Mansell, aka the Oklahoma Wildman. He's a violent sociopath that Givens crosses paths with in Detroit, and he's repeatedly evaded the law. Meanwhile, Ellis plays Mansell's lawyer, Carolyn Wilder. It's said that while she intends to get her client off scot free, Wilder finds herself caught between cop and criminal. Production on Justified: City Primeval is expected to begin this week.
Though director Quentin Tarantino was reportedly in talks to direct episodes of Justified: City Primeval, the new announcement makes no mention of the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Kill Bill mastermind. Nevertheless, there could still be an opportunity for Tarantino to get involved as the Justified revival works through its season. Even if he does not join the Justified family, though, the revival has an impressive array of talent both behind the camera and in front.
Justified was celebrated for its consistent impressive quality across its original run, and City Primeval's recent additions to the cast prove that the upcoming limited series is being produced with care. Holbrook has proved himself capable of playing western-inspired figures in Logan, and Ellis will join the series following her performance in King Richard, which earned her much recognition and an Oscar nomination. While Goggins is seemingly not set to return to Justified at the time of writing, both Holbrook and Ellis are sure to make an impact on the audience when they join Olyphant's Givens on screen.
Source: Variety