Steven Spielberg Has Never Directed A Western For A Simple Reason
by Joe Roberts · /FilmSteven Spielberg has been making movies for more than 50 years, but he's yet to direct a Western. In a sense, though, it's not all that surprising. After all, Spielberg came to prominence at a time when the oater was very much on its way out. By the time "Jaws" reshaped the box office in 1975 and truly established Spielberg as a directorial force in Hollywood, audiences had moved on from the humble horse opera.
But plenty of Spielberg's contemporaries have overseen Westerns. Quentin Tarantino has two to his name, both of which debuted in the 2010s, and the 21st century has produced some great Westerns beyond that. As such, Spielberg very much could have helmed a Western if he wanted to up to this point. But it seems the director has always been more interested in the genre that superseded the classic oater: sci-fi.
In an interview with Empire, Spielberg was asked if he has any more sci-fi stories he'd like to work on. "Oh, yeah," he replied. "But in a way, for me, sci-fi has become my version of making a Western." It seems the director remains hopeful that he'll one day complete the storied Spielberg Oater, however. "I've never made a Western," he continued. "I've always wanted to, but sci-fi supplanted the Western, probably in the 1960s. I think ['2001: A Space Odyssey'] was the death knell to the Western as a staple genre, and I miss it."
Notably, despite Spielberg having stayed away from the genre, there is still time for the director to deliver his take on the Western. In fact, it now seems it could happen sooner rather than later.
Steven Spielberg is a product of an anti-Western era
During a keynote speech at the 2026 SXSW festival in Austin, Texas, Steven Spielberg confirmed that he's working on a Western, though he didn't share any details. Thus far, all we know is that the project is in development and that, to use Spielberg's phrasing, "it kicks ass." So, at this stage, it remains to be seen if it will actually come to fruition.
Until then, Spielberg remains the product of an era that saw Westerns not only become old hat but fade from culture in a way they previously hadn't. The genre was reliably popular in the early days of film, but it had been relegated to B-movie status by the 1930s. Then, director John Ford reinvigorated the genre with his 1939 classic "Stagecoach," which also brought Hollywood star John Wayne to the forefront. After that, Westerns became the genre for American filmmakers, remaining popular right through the 1960s and into the '70s.
At this stage, however, the genre was beginning to reassess itself. Revisionist filmmakers like Sam Peckinpah re-examined the Old West through a more cynical lens, and subversive leading men like Clint Eastwood made anti-heroes the new norm. The simplistic white hat vs. black hat days were gone, and as the genre continued to deconstruct itself, science fiction did indeed come to supplant the Western. It was in this climate that Spielberg emerged, and in many ways, his origins have come to define the types of films he's directed. Which is why it's about time he turned his attention to the genre that paved the way for the rise of sci-fi filmmaking in the first place and gave us his take on the classic Western.