A closer look at “Why Clint Eastwood Passed on Once Upon a Time in the West: The Leone Feud That Changed a W”, exactly as the source publishes it. Sergio Leone’s 1968 epic Once Upon a Time in the West is widely regarded as one of the greatest Westerns ever made, but it almost featured a jaw-dropping cameo: the three stars of Leone’s own Dollars Trilogy. Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, and Eli Wallach were reportedly set to appear as the three gunmen gunned down at the film’s opening train station.
However, the plan collapsed due to the bitter feud between Eastwood and Leone, which had been simmering since their work on The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Eastwood’s refusal to participate forced Leone to cast other actors, altering a moment that could have been a historic cinematic crossover. The full version stays on the original page, which this listing opens directly.