Meridian Pictures Picks Up Mike Maples Western The Regulator
Meridian Pictures has picked up The Regulator, a western script by Mike Maples set in 1895, as Deadline reported on 7 October 2026. The project is in development, which means the script is being worked up before any shoot is scheduled.
The story centres on a legendary regulator forced to protect a secret son he never knew existed. A vengeful cattle empire has put a price on both their heads. That chase for survival drives the action.
Eric Paquette will produce with Aaron Barnett, according to the same report. Paquette is founder and chief executive of Meridian Pictures and a former Sony and MGM executive. Barnett joins him as producing partner on the western.
Maples is best known for the Lionsgate thriller Backtrace, starring Matthew Modine and Sylvester Stallone. His action spec Padre was acquired by Sony's Screen Gems, the studio label focused on genre films. Both credits sit in the action and thriller space.
The Regulator joins a Meridian slate that already includes two features moving toward cameras. The Line Between has Jonathan Jakubowicz set to direct. The survival thriller The Edge is directed by Kasper Torsting.
Both films are targeting production in the second quarter of 2027. No director or cast has been disclosed for The Regulator. Maples is represented by Bryan Brucks of 831 Entertainment.
What makes this stand out is the setting. Westerns live or die on scale, locations and casting, so a script pickup is only the first step in a long chain.
