James Coburn's Greatest Western Is Being Made Into An Amazon Series

Published Nov 9, 2026, 6:30 PM EST Faith Roswell is a Senior Writer on Screen Rant's Classic TV team. Since earning her degree in Creative Writing over a decade ago, Faith has written articles on film and TV from a variety of different angles. Faith now combines her knowledge of psychology with her love of monster movies to give more insight into what makes the best ones. You may have read her Screen Rant lists and features covering horror, sci-fi, and fantasy, or read her Amazon Top 10 book, "Movie Monsters of the Deep." Faith has had an extensive career as a writer, appearing on BBC live radio, researching true crime for Rotten Mango podcast, and writing for publications including Mental Floss, Atlas Obscura, and The Daily Jaws before beginning here at Screen Rant. Not all Westerns stand the test of time, but some iconic Western movie masterpieces have become endlessly inspiring thanks to their story and acting performances. As the age of the classic Western has been largely left behind in favor of more nuanced neo-Westerns like Dark Winds and grittier takes on frontier life, like American Primeval, this has left the door open for Amazon to potentially gain a new flagship show through revisiting one of the greatest classic Western movies of all time, starring the genre's movie and TV legend, the late James Coburn. James Coburn's best movies and TV shows made him into one of the greatest Western actors of all time, but he remains underrated, never quite gaining the "leading man" status that John Wayne and Clint Eastwood achieved. Part of this is due to his health issues and shift towards spy movies, but another is due to the fact that his best performances were often as part of an ensemble cast. Despite having comparatively few lines of dialogue, he stole the show in The Magnificent Seven, which is now being made into a TV series for Amazon. Amazon's Magnificent Seven TV Series Has A Lot To Live Up To The original Magnificent Seven has one of the best ensemble casts in any Western movie and is, in turn, based on Akira Kurosawa's 1954 movie, Seven Samurai, which centers on a group of samurai who are hired by a farming village to defend them from an incoming raid by bandits. The Magnificent Seven follows the same plot, but is set in the American Old West, and both movies still have a following today, having inspired multiple other movies and TV shows. This gives Amazon's Magnificent Seven TV show an impressive and slightly intimidating legacy to live up to. Comparing the 1960 Magnificent Seven movie and its 2016 remake Title Year Rotten Tomatoes critics' rating Rotten Tomatoes audience rating The Magnificent Seven 1960 93% 87% The Magnificent Seven 2016 64% 71% While the 1960 classic includes some attitudes that are products of their time, it has largely held up remarkably well by today's standards. Its follow-up movies and TV series may have flopped, receiving extensive criticism from critics and audiences, but The Magnificent Seven's polarizing remake is still considered a near-perfect modern Western by many. In order to achieve the success of the former and the innovation of the latter, Amazon's TV show must choose its cast wisely, ensuring that the actors involved have chemistry and a new dynamic that avoids being just a copy of the original movie. Created by Tim Kring (Heroes,) the eight-part TV remake already appears to be in good hands experienced with atmospheric TV shows with an ensemble cast. The Magnificent Seven has recast its main characters with established actors, including Matt Dillon (Wayward Pines,) Will Patton (Yellowstone,) and Michael Ealy (Westworld.) Even so, living up to the legacy of the original movie, which also starred Steve McQueen and Charles Bronson, would be daunting for just about any director and team, which is a testament to its iconic status and powerhouse performances, especially from Coburn. Why The Magnificent Seven Is James Coburn's Best Western Movie Before the Golden Age of Westerns ended, the genre began to branch out into darker and more creative storylines as the spy genre started to compete. This played perfectly into Coburn's range of talents, as he excelled at portraying morally-complex "tough guy" archetypes with mysterious backstories. His performances in A Fistful of Dynamite and Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid were some of his best, with his naturally world-weary approach standing out. That said, his performance in The Magnificent Seven established Coburn as one of the greatest Western movie actors of all time. The Magnificent Seven captured everything that made James Coburn a star. His character, Britt, is a stoic and deadly fighter who speaks as little as possible, joined to test his skills against a worthy opponent, and stands out for his intensity rather than the swagger the other actors brought to the group. Britt was decades ahead of his time and more suited to a neo-Western, but Coburn commanded attention every time he spoke. The upcoming TV remake has not yet revealed which character will be Britt's equivalent, but the actor will have some big boots to fill.