There's little point denying that, quantity wise, the western genre's heyday has long since passed. Their death bells began ringing around the 1960s or so, and while Italy carried them into the 1970s, the writing was on the wall. And yet, each decade since has seen the genre hang on with films hitting both big and small screens.
That trend has continued into the 21st century with new westerns arriving each year, and while some are just as quickly forgotten, others have already marked themselves as new classics. Many tend to earn the label of revisionist western as they engage older tropes with modern sensibilities and critiques, but all of them stand tall in the saddle as must-see westerns.
We've previously ranked the best westerns of all time, but keep reading for a look at the 15 best westerns made and released in the 21st century.
