Blackwater Draw: The Making of Billy the Kid

RealClearPolitics

by Palladium Pictures

February 17, 2026

Long before algorithms, a single story could define a man for the rest of history. Billy the Kid didn't become a legendary outlaw just because of a shootout, but because a reporter decided how that gunfight would be remembered. In "Blackwater Draw: The Making of Billy the Kid," filmmaker Dugan Bridges investigates how the messy truth of a gunfight hardened into the enduring myth of the American outlaw. This film examines how journalism can expose corruption -- and how it can just as easily disguise it. This is the first of four new documentaries from the Palladium Pictures incubator that RCP will premiere this season. As America grapples with revelations of deep government corruption and renewed debates over law enforcement and protest, questions of justice feel as unsettled as ever. This short film takes us back to another moment in U.S. history when power was abused, morals were frayed, and the law itself was in question. Through a reporter's investigation into the gunfight that made Billy the Kid an outlaw, the film reexamines an origin story shaped by corruption, intrigue, and murder--asking who gets labeled a criminal when the system itself is broken.

Verticals

politicsnews

Originally published on RealClearPolitics on 2/17/2026