The same could also be said for the Wild West, and even the greater Old West period in general.

It's interesting how genre fads have come and gone in the Hollywood era. For a while there swashbucklers with Errol Flynn et all were the biggest thing ever. Now that along with westerns are nearly a dead genre.

Westerns have been reincarnated a bit here and there. The Mandalorian is a really good western for instance. Firefly as well, some years back. Westworld too. Some of the other Star Wars stuff is pretty western too, the non-main Disney movies.

Wouldn’t Pirates of the Caribbean count as a massive success as a swashbuckler revival? It’s a much bigger success than any recent western.

Seems like it's a good one, yeah.

There's been a few other great ones as well that I can think of:

- No Country for Old Men

- Django Unchained

- True Grit

- Brokeback Mountain

Indiana Jones and Han Solo are two other examples of popular swashbucklers in recent times. Robin Hood has been popular for as long as narrative film and television have existed (not to mention centuries earlier in print), with shows and movies coming out every couple of years and only a few gaps here and there. And then there are many super heroes that fit the bill as well!

This kind of character archetype is timeless for a reason: it’s been part of western culture for so long that it’s become part of western identity!

Superhero movies might have replaced them now that quality FX can make them more credible.

The funny thing about the Wild West thing is that it had some basis in reality (i.e. theft, raids, ranching "wars", territorial disputes, extrajudicial punishment, etc), but was romanticized into a genre through contemporary journalism and theater in the Eastern USA around the same time that it was actually happening the Western USA, basically mid 19th century to early 20th century. One pretty good book on this subject is "A Splendid Savage: The Restless Life of Frederick Russell Burnham"

Isn’t it weird that pirates are a kids thing? I wonder if 3 centuries in the future kids will watch narco cartoons.

Somewhat relevant Perry Bible Fellowship: https://pbfcomics.com/comics/now-showing/

Don't we already have TV shows romanticising narco trade?

I guess we’re heading in that direction.