Will Kane Cooper (see below), "Cooper was not producer Stanley Kramer's first choice to play Marshal Will Kane." Nevertheless, Will Kane is "one of Cooper's most famous roles." Lee Majors explained that he accepted the role in the sequel, because "I've always admired Gary Cooper. And I wanted to do a Western again." Ron Hardy, who directed the recent remake, argued that Tom Skerrit was an ideal actor to take over the role in the remake. Hardy explained that like "Cooper, he is Mr. Everyday. People know who Tom Skerritt is. They don't treat him like a superstar. They feel he's approachable."
Will Kane replaced Kane as marshal, is a tyrant who shoots up the horses Will has just purchased. Ward is after Ben Irons and his men in order to get the bounty on them, even though Ward knows they are innocent. Ben gets away. Ward pursues him, and Kane decides to help Ben. Ben dies from a gunshot wound. Ward is going to arrest Kane for helping Ben, but the town rallies together and issues a warrant for Ward's arrest. Kane then again puts on the tin star and shoots Ward to death. Despite the iconic portrayal of the character by Gary