Sylvester Stallone’s Tulsa King is a great follow-up to Kurt Russell’s Tombstone, and one actor who appears in both proves why. In Tulsa King, Stallone plays Dwight Manfredi, a New York mobster who was banished to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to set up a new criminal empire out West. While he was there, Dwight created a huge network of allies and enemies that includes the entire cast of Tulsa King. While Dwight’s mobster background is unique, both he and Tulsa King are very similar to Wyatt Earp and Tombstone.
There are quite a few threads that connect Tombstone and Tulsa King. Both the movie and show were based on real-life stories, like the real Cowboys gang of Tombstone and the true mafioso story Tulsa King is based on. The similarities don’t end there, however, as both Tombstone and Tulsa King feature major actors – Kurt Russell and Sylvester Stallone respectively – in their biggest Western roles. Even with so many similarities, however, another actor besides Stallone proves why Tulsa King is a great follow-up to Tombstone.
Dana Delany’s Tulsa King Character Is Very Similar To Josephine In Tombstone
Margaret Devereaux & Josephine Marcus Share Several Characteristics
In Tulsa King, Dana Delany plays Margaret Devereaux, the owner of the Fennario Ranch and an eventual love interest to Dwight. In Tombstone, she plays Josephine Marcus, a traveling performer and love interest of Wyatt. Though Tulsa King is a modern Western and Tombstone is as classic as it gets, Delany’s characters in both are quite similar. Both Margaret and Josephine are strong women, and they both have an unusual view of romance: Josephine stays with whoever she finds exciting, while Margaret is very casual after her divorce. Both characters even replace the protagonists’ first love interest: Stacy Beale in Tulsa King and Mattie in Tombstone.
Why Tulsa King Is Such A Great Show To Watch After Tombstone
Dwight & Wyatt Are As Similar As Margaret & Josephine
While Margaret in Tulsa King and Josephine in Tombstone share quite a few similarities, it’s their differences that make Stallone’s show such a great watch after the classic Western. The biggest difference between Margaret and Josephine is how they influence the main character of their respective projects. Josephine was somewhat of a bad influence on Wyatt: she got him to leave his wife, while Margaret encouraged Dwight to be a better man and let go of his personal feud with Cal Thresher (Neal McDonough). It’s a flip that makes Tulsa King sufficiently different from Tombstone, but there are still plenty of similarities.
Despite the difference in how Dana Delany’s characters try to influence their love interests, Dwight and Wyatt seem to be heading towards the same place. At the end of Tombstone, Wyatt became a man who was completely fueled by revenge, and he only decided to start a new life because of Josephine. In Tulsa King season 2, it seems like Dwight is being pulled further into the gangster life by his enemies, and Margaret may be one of the few people that can stop him. Both Tulsa King and Tombstone show how strong men can struggle with escaping their dark pasts, which makes them perfectly complementary.
Tulsa King Is Dana Delany’s Most Successful Western Since Tombstone
Delany Has Moved On To Other Genres, But Tulsa King Is A Triumphant Return To Westerns
Aside from Tombstone and Tulsa King, Dana Delany has only had roles in a handful of Westerns. Delany starred in a miniseries and a movie in the 1990s: True Women and The Outfitters, respectively, and her small role in Mayans MC season 5 could be considered Western-adjacent at least. Aside from Mayans MC, Tulsa King is by far Dana Delany’s best Western since Tombstone. Margaret is also one of Delany’s best characters in years, regardless of genre or project, and she should continue to be important to Tulsa King season 2.
Another bonus Dana Delany’s Tulsa King character has is that it’s her most Western role in decades. In Mayans MC, the only Western Delany has appeared in since 1999, she played a government agent who was investigating a motorcycle club, which is a far cry from her Tombstone character. By contrast, Margaret in Tulsa King is a ranch owner who rides and sells horses for a living, and is more often than not wearing a cowboy hat. Tulsa King is proof that Dana Delany is a master of the Western genre, and it’s also proof that Tombstone fans have the perfect show to watch.