Outlaw Johnny Black is a saint turned sinner, who is hell-bent on avenging his father’s death. It is a 2023 black western comedy directed by Michael Jai White, who co-wrote the script with Byron Keith Minns. Johnny Black vows to gun down Brett Clayton and becomes a wanted man in the process, all while posing as a preacher in a small mining town that’s been taken over by a notorious land baron.
Outlaw Johnny Black is a spiritual sequel to Black Dynamite, with White and Minns reprising their roles. With “Black Dynamite,” White drew heavily on influences such as “Black Caesar” and “Superfly,” sending them up with a loving kind of parody. Here, he draws from films such as the late Sidney Poitier’s 1972 western “Buck and the Preacher,” but from a more earnest perspective. Performers, including Tommy Davidson and Kym Whitley, return like loyal members of an acting company in various supporting roles. In “Outlaw Johnny Black,” White has found a new hero to anchor this story, one who is equally adept at handing out beatings and gunshots as he is with using his charm and wit. Like “Black Dynamite,” the film is marketed primarily as a comedy, albeit with less focus on the central task of parodying its key influences.
It was released theatrically on September 15, 2023, and received mixed reviews from film critics. It is also the final film appearance of Erica Ash due to her death in 2024.
