19 Years After 'Tombstone,' Val Kilmer Took on Another Western Legend With a 'Daredevil' Star

4 days ago 4

Published Apr 10, 2026, 5:05 PM EDT

Michael John Petty is a Senior Author for Collider who spends his days writing, in fellowship with his local church, and enjoying each new day with his wife and daughters. At Collider, he writes features, reviews, recaps, and conducts interviews. In addition to writing about stories, Michael has told a few of his own. His first work of self-published fiction, The Beast of Bear-tooth Mountain, was released in 2023. His Western short story, The Devil's Left Hand, received the Spur Award for "Best Western Short Fiction" from the Western Writers of America in 2025. Michael currently resides in North Idaho with his growing family.

After Tombstone, it's hard to believe that Val Kilmer would ever decide to star in a Western again. Not that he suffered a bad experience or did a poor job — quite the contrary. His legendary performance as Doc Holliday is a once-in-a-lifetime role that has come to define his career, and for good reason. Yet, nearly two decades after he said "farewell" to Tombstone, Kilmer returned to the Old West for a different sort of Wyatt Earp tale, this time playing the title lawman himself in the 2012 picture Wyatt Earp's Revenge. If you haven't heard of it, we don't blame you, as it's not exactly A-list material, but it's worth discovering.

'Wyatt Earp's Revenge' Stars Val Kilmer As the Titular Western Lawman

Although Kilmer would revisit the Western genre a few times after Tombstone, including in the Lonesome Dove prequel miniseries Comanche Moon, Wyatt Earp's Revenge was his first time back in the world of the famed Dodge City lawman. This time, Kilmer wasn't Doc Holliday, but rather Earp himself, who tells a curious reporter (played by David O'Donnell) the story of why his younger self (Shawn Roberts), Bat Masterson (Matt Dallas), Charlie Bassett (Scott Whyte), and Bill Tilghman (Levi Fiehler) received custom Colt Buntline Specials in 1878. As the title suggests, the film is a simple tale of revenge as a badge-less Earp and his companions chase after the gunslinger "Spike" Kenedy (Daniel Booko), who not only killed Earp's supposed first love, Dora Hand (Diana DeGarmo), but several others along his escape route from Dodge. A tired Kilmer looks back on these events with the enthusiasm of a cardboard box, recounting in painful detail the events from the time he left the city in pursuit to the moment he received the Colt in question.

If you're expecting another Tombstone-level Val Kilmer-led Wyatt Earp movie, Wyatt Earp's Revenge is nothing of the sort. It's the type of direct-to-video B-picture that, tragically, doesn't give the leading man hardly anything to do. Rather, it hopes to capitalize on the fact that you want to see Kilmer return to the Wild West. In the end, he doesn't even set foot outside his San Francisco hotel. In fact, all Kilmer does as Wyatt Earp is sit around and talk, barely shifting the cadence of his voice as he does so. Never mind all the interesting ideas that could have been explored regarding the former lawman's declining years, and never mind the interesting dialogue that could have been written for Kilmer to poetically recite on screen. In the end, the Tombstone star is misused compared to his previous Western performances, and not even his star power can save this picture from the embarrassment of being unable to live up to the title. It's a shame, too, because Wyatt Earp's Revenge has some interesting narrative potential, but it's just bogged down by its uninspired dialogue, low production values, and uneven performances.

'Wyatt Earp's Revenge' Is an Ambitious Western That Doesn't Completely Work

For one thing, an elderly Wyatt Earp reflecting on one of his most personal exploits should've struck Western gold, especially with Kilmer leading the charge. The trouble is, the stakes never feel terribly high — aside from perhaps everything revolving around the young Connie (Mason Cook) and his family. We see the film's ending "twist" coming from a mile away, but there is one bright spot that borders on parody while remaining the most entertaining element of the picture: Doc Holliday.

Actor Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday in Tombstone, smiling against an orange background of men on horseback.

Played by Daredevil star Wilson Bethel, Doc Holliday appears near the end of the picture when Wyatt and his allies need a doctor to tend to (and help interrogate) Spike's derelict brother Sam (Steven Grayhm). In his very best Kilmer-in-Tombstone impression, Bethel leans into the role with full force, evoking both satisfied smiles and bubbles of laughter as we wonder if he was trying to impress his co-star. They even pepper in some real-life Doc Holliday quotes in there. Frankly, Bethel is one of the most enjoyable bits in the film.

Admittedly, Wyatt Earp's Revenge is an interesting story that had potential. The results being what they are, it's not among the greatest revenge Westerns out there, instead feeling like direct-to-DVD fodder that you'd try on a whim from the Walmart bargain bin because you saw Val Kilmer's name on the cover. Maybe that's all it needs to be. If that's your sort of entertainment, then we won't stop you. However, if you're looking for a gritty, intense follow-up to Tombstone where Kilmer is triumphantly leading the charge, this probably isn't the Western for you.