News of the World 2: Beyond the River (2025) is a sweeping, emotionally charged Western sequel that continues the journey of Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd (Tom Hanks) and Johanna Leonberger (Helena Zengel) in the years after their first odyssey across post–Civil War Texas. Expanding on the themes of family, belonging, and the healing power of storytelling, the sequel trades the dusty trails of Texas for a more perilous journey into untamed and contested territories.
Set in the early 1870s, the story begins with Kidd and Johanna living a modest but content life together, running a small printing press in a growing frontier town. Kidd has retired from traveling to read the news aloud, instead publishing broadsheets to keep the locals informed. But their peace is broken when Kidd receives word that a fellow news reader has gone missing upriver under mysterious circumstances while traveling through territory where tensions between settlers, Native tribes, and opportunistic outlaws are on the rise.
When Johanna discovers that the missing man was carrying documents that could impact fragile land treaties—and potentially prevent a violent conflict—she convinces Kidd to take one more journey with her. Together, they set out along the Red River and beyond, navigating dangerous waterways, harsh landscapes, and the uneasy politics of Reconstruction-era America.
Along the way, Kidd and Johanna encounter old allies, including a freedman-turned-trader who provides them with both guidance and moral perspective, and a Comanche elder who challenges Johanna to reconcile the two halves of her identity—her German heritage and the Native upbringing she refuses to forget.
As they draw closer to uncovering the truth about the missing news reader, Kidd and Johanna find themselves caught in the crossfire between rival factions. Kidd must once again use his voice, not his gun, to bridge divides, while Johanna confronts the question of where she truly belongs—and whether the road they’re on together is leading toward a shared future or an inevitable farewell.
News of the World 2: Beyond the River delivers the same quiet power as its predecessor, blending gripping frontier adventure with a deeply human story. It’s a meditation on truth, identity, and the bonds that outlast blood, proving that even in a fractured land, stories can be the bridge across any river.
