Taylor Sheridan’s Harrowing Neo-Western Marked Out of Bounds by Netflix for Some Users

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Rahul Malhotra is a Weekend News Writer for Collider. From Francois Ozon to David Fincher, he'll watch anything once.

He has been writing for Collider for over two years, and has covered everything from Marvel to the Oscars, and Marvel at the Oscars. He also writes obsessively about the box office, charting the many hits and misses that are released weekly, and how their commercial performance shapes public perception. In his time at Collider, he has also helped drive diversity by writing stories about the multiple Indian film industries, with a goal to introduce audiences to a whole new world of cinema.

Swing and a miss > measured victory. Also, #JusticeForHan. (He/Him).

After earning an Oscar nomination for writing the film Hell or High Water, which landed only a year after the critically acclaimed Sicario, Taylor Sheridan decided to direct a feature film for only the second time in his career. This time around, he had two genuine classics under his belt. He attracted Marvel Cinematic Universe stars Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen, and delivered yet another winner in the form of Wind River. The movie emerged as a critically acclaimed box office hit, further establishing Sheridan as the single most prominent voice in a neo-Western revival. Wind River is currently available to stream on Netflix, but the streamer has barred access to it for subscribers to its ad-supported tier.

Wind River is among around 145 titles this month that won't be accessible to certain subscribers, mainly for rights reasons. Released in 2017, Wind River earned $45 million at the worldwide box office, against a reported budget of $11 million. It followed two detectives investigating a murder on a Native American reservation in Wyoming. The film set the tone for Sheridan's future work in the television landscape, which he has been dominating for over half-a-decade with shows such as Yellowstone, Lioness, Tulsa King, and Landman. The movie earned positive reviews, and is now sitting at a "certified fresh" 87% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics' consensus reads, "Wind River lures viewers into a character-driven mystery with smart writing, a strong cast, and a skillfully rendered setting that delivers the bitter chill promised by its title."

Taylor Sheridan Is Switching Teams

Renner went on to collaborate with Sheridan on the hit series Mayor of Kingstown, which recently debuted its fourth season. The crime drama has been improving with every passing season, and the latest batch of episodes was hailed as some of its best. Olsen, on the other hand, can currently be seen in the acclaimed fantasy comedy film Eternity, also starring Miles Teller and Callum Turner. The movie did moderately well in its theatrical run, but has emerged as something of a streaming favorite in recent weeks. Sheridan recently had a highly publicized split from Paramount, and has since struck a deal with NBCUniversal. Wind River is available on Netflix, but only if you aren't subscribed to the streamer's ad-supported tier.

Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.