10 Best Westerns NOT Set In The Old West

Directed and written by Joss Whedon, Serenity is the perfect Western, full of gunslingers, tough-as-nails prositutes, gunfights and scope. Released in 2005, the film was a continuation of the cult hit show Firefly, which was wrongfully cancelled after one completely fantastic season. Serenity was an attempt to appease some angry fans, finishing up the story of Malcolm Reynolds and his crew to a more satisfactory end.

The film follows the crew of the titular ship, lead by Nathan Fillion's Mal, as they attempt to escape the Alliance - the sinister regime ruling most of the universe. Harbouring two fugitives with checkered pasts and numerous secrets, the Serenity crew are pursued through space by the Operative (Chiwetel Ejiofor), who is out to bring the fugitives down.

It's not a Western in the conventional sense, thanks to the added excitement of sci-fi, fantasy, mystery and even comedy, but it still ticks all the boxes; the settings are sweeping and colourful, Mal Reynolds is the classic lone gunman archetype who talks tough but has a heart of gold, and political themes underlying the chases and violence make this a quintessential non-Western Western, with a lot to love.

We still miss Firefly, though.