It has been the source of fevered rumours ever since it was prematurely cancelled nearly a decade ago. Now HBO’s wild west drama Deadwood might finally be getting the return that fans craved, after HBO confirmed it was having “preliminary conversations” about reviving the show for a one-off movie.

HBO’s announcement came in response to a series of tweets sent by Deadwood actor Garret Dillahunt, who claimed that he had heard “credible rumours about at #Deadwood movie”. “Come on @HBO ... you made @entouragemovie. Give the #Deadwood fans some closure. #Youcandoit,” Dillahunt later tweeted.

So uh....I'm hearing credible rumors about a #Deadwood movie. #Everybodypray — Garret Dillahunt (@garretdillahunt) August 13, 2015

A violent and frequently foul-mouthed drama concerning the creation of a mining town in South Dakota in the 1870s, Deadwood received widespread acclaim during its run, picking up eight Emmy awards and one Golden Globe. The show was cancelled after three seasons in 2006, ending on an unresolved cliffhanger. Initially, the chances of a return for the series seemed high, with creator David Milch stating his intention to make two TV films wrapping up the storyline.

However, as time passed, the likelihood of the show’s return dwindled. In a 2009 episode of The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, Ian McShane, who played Deadwood’s foul-mouthed bar owner Al Swearengen, stated that “Deadwood is dead”, while, in 2012, Milch said he didn’t think a movie, or movies, would ever be produced.

Dillahunt’s intervention seems to have brought with it renewed optimism about the show’s revival. HBO, for its part, issued a cautious response to the rumours. “In reference to Garret Dillahunt’s tweet regarding the rumored Deadwood movie, there have only been very preliminary conversations,” a statement from the network to the Hollywood Reporter read.

Yet the fact that HBO has addressed the rumours at all suggests the show might not be as dead as McShane and Milch suggested. The network has previous in reviving series in the form of feature films, releasing two Sex and the City spin-off movies in 2008 and 2010, and an Entourage film earlier this year.

Deadwood isn’t the only show hoping to extend its lifespan with a feature-length outing. Community, the cult sitcom that currently airs on Yahoo, faces an uncertain future following the expiry of its casts’ contracts, but creator Dan Harmon is more optimistic about the prospects of the show returning as a film. “It would be a lot easier to put together a movie project and get them all on board than to say, ‘Let’s give it one more season”, he told TV Insider last month.