Watch the First Trailer for Michael Jai White’s The Outlaw Johnny Black

Back in 2018, Michael Jai White announced plans to make The Outlaw Johnny Black, a Western-themed parody/homage along the same lines as 2009’s Black Dynamite, which found White poking fun at martial arts and blaxploitation films like 1974’s Black Belt Jones. But in the ensuing years, The Outlaw Johnny Black seemed to be stuck in development hell with White’s fundraising efforts stalled.

So imagine my delight and surprise when I saw this official teaser for the film along with an actual release date. Directed by White — who also stars, natch — The Outlaw Johnny Black features the titular hero seeking to avenge his father’s murder, only to become a wanted criminal on the run who’s forced to pose as a preacher in a mining town threatened by an evil land baron.

Or as the teaser puts it, “As faith-based Western black exploitation kung fu action romantic comedy dramas go, it’s right up there with the rest of them.”

The Outlaw Johnny Black arrives in theaters on September 15. Now excuse me while I go revise the list of my most-anticipated movies of 2023.