Claim: Emilio Estevez has worked with other actors.

Young Guns is a 1988 American western film directed by Christopher Cain and written by John Fusco . The film is the first installment in the Young Gun film series and the first to be produced by Morgan Creek Productions . The film stars Emilio Estevez , Kiefer Sutherland , Lou Diamond Phillips , Charlie Sheen , Dermot Mulroney , Casey Siemaszko , Terence Stamp , Terry O'Quinn , Brian Keith , and Jack Palance .   Young Guns is a retelling of the adventures of Billy the Kid during the Lincoln County War , which took place in New Mexico during 1877 -- 78 . It was filmed in and around New Mexico . Historian Dr. Paul Hutton called Young Guns the most historically accurate of all prior Billy the Kid films . It opened no. 1 at the box office , eventually earning $ 45 million from a moderate $ 11 million budget . A sequel , Young Guns II , was released in 1990 .