Is Ed Zwick’s 'The Creed of Violence' the Western Classic We Deserve?
A long-awaited project finally heads into production.
Ed Zwick is back, and now he takes the reins of The Creed of Violence, a brutal Western that’s been waiting more than a decade for the right director.
Adapted from Boston Teran’s acclaimed 2009 novel, it’s a tale of corruption, empire, and unlikely alliances — exactly the kind of Western that makes you wonder if Zwick might deliver a new classic.
A Story with History
The novel unfolds during the Mexican Revolution, following a ruthless assassin and a young government agent who share a hidden past. Together they journey through a violent, treacherous landscape, one that reflects the raw brutality of empire and greed.
Zwick himself has said the book echoes his favorite classics, while still feeling utterly fresh thanks to its unapologetic violence and unforgettable characters.
A Long Road to the Screen
Hollywood has circled this story before. At various points, Leonardo DiCaprio, Christian Bale, and Daniel Craig were attached, with Todd Field once developing his own version.
Yet the film never found the right momentum — until now. Zwick will direct, write, and produce alongside his longtime collaborator Marshall Herskovitz, aiming to finally bring Teran’s vision to the big screen.
A Trilogy in the Making?
The team behind the project hopes this is just the beginning. The Creed of Violence is the first in a trilogy of Teran’s novels, followed by The White Country and Gardens of Grief. If the film lands, we might be looking at a sweeping saga of violence, politics, and morality — themes Zwick has explored before in works like Glory and The Last Samurai.
So, could this be the Western classic we’ve been waiting for? Many of us still see Zwick as a filmmaker capable of balancing scale and soul, spectacle and substance. Perhaps this is the project that lets him prove it once more.
