Taylor Sheridan’s ‘Empire of the Summer Moon’: Everything We Know About His New Historical Western
The ‘Yellowstone’ creator's next project explores Native American history in a powerful new way
A new Taylor Sheridan historical Western drama? Count us in! That’s right, the beloved Yellowstone writer and creator is working on yet another project, and this one is going to be extremely different from anything he’s done thus far. To learn all the details on the new Sheridan show Empire of the Summer Moon, keep scrolling!
What we know so far about ‘Empire of the Summer Moon’
Sheridan’s Empire of the Summer Moon project was announced exclusively by Deadline in January of 2024. It’s unclear if it’s going to be a TV show or movie as of now, but either way, the plot is expected to follow S.C. Gwynne 2011 nonfiction book Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History.
In the book, readers are taken inside the 40-year conflict between the Comanche and American settlers, with the story largely centered on Quanah Parker, widely regarded as the tribe’s greatest chief. It also traces how the Comanche rose to become the most powerful Native American tribe in U.S. history, while exploring the extraordinary story of Cynthia Ann Parker and her mixed-heritage son, Quanah, who would ultimately become the Comanche’s last chief.
“I can’t think of anyone better qualified to bring Empire of the Summer Moon to the screen than Taylor Sheridan,” Gwynne told Deadline. “He has a deep and nuanced understanding of both the myth and reality of the Old West. I am thrilled that he is undertaking this project.”
Taylor Sheridan’s history of Native American storytelling
Prior to Empire of the Summer Moon, Sheridan has shown viewers the harshness Native Americans have faced throughout history.
The most recent example was in the form of the hit Yellowstone prequel show 1923, which featured a character named Teonna Rainwater (Aminah Nieves).
As things unfold, Teonna is sent to a Catholic boarding school, where she was told to rid herself of her Native American culture. She manages to escape, only to find herself on the run, though ultimately she makes it out of her treacherous journey unscathed, which in turn allows viewers to understand how hard it really was for Native Americans in 1920s Montana.
“Being Indigenous, I think it’s my duty as an artist to be consistent with where I stand as a person that demands a revolution and is kind of living in an abolitionist way, and to speak out on injustices around the world,” Nieves told Woman’s World in March of 2025. “As an artist, I believe that that’s what we’re meant to do, so to be able to share a part of true history that not a lot of people know about because it’s been so well kept away from them, is really important.”
The actress expanded upon that in another interview with Woman’s World, saying, “Our rights are quite literally being taken from us right now. So to go back in time and to look at it from a 2025 and the 1923 perspective, I think it only shows how little we’ve actually progressed and how far we went back.”
“For me, it’s, like, ‘What can we do to be better as people?’ As women, we hold so much power within us to this day, so to be stripped of that, and to be stripped of our essence and our magic, is ridiculous, and we need to do better as a community. That’s what I have to say,” Nieves continued.
‘Empire of the Summer Moon’ cast and release date updates
As of publication, there is no news on who will be in the Empire of the Summer Moon cast. There is also no information available as to when the show will be released, but many outlets are expecting that it will be at some point in late 2026.
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