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Kevin Costner, Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan and a handful of the lead cast members were scheduled to appear on a Paleyfest panel this Saturday. Costner, Sheridan and the leads, including Cole Hauser and Wes Bentley, backed out at the last minute, with a different palen of supporting cast and Paramount executives taking their place. Fans were disappointed, and it highlighted the rumors that Kevin Costner is about to step away from the franchise. We’ve heard for weeks that Costner is leaving, and there were stories that Matthew McConaughey would take over in some capacity. At Paleyfest, the president of development for Paramount, Keith Cox, said everyone was “confident” that Costner would return as John Dutton to the series:
Paramount Network vaguely addressed rumors about Kevin Costner’s future on “Yellowstone” following speculation he may hang up his cowboy hat.
“What I can say is our star, the face of our show, and executive producer, are very confident he is going to continue with our show,” Paramount Network’s president of development and production Keith Cox told fans to enthusiastic applause at a PaleyFest panel for the Paramount+ drama on Saturday night, attended by Insider.
When asked when we can expect production on the season to resume, Cox said an announcement will come “soon.” He described the season’s remaining episodes as “phenomenal. I’m confident.”
The show’s mid-season finale aired January 1.
Fans inside Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre were hoping to hear the comments from Costner himself.
The show’s star was originally set to appear alongside the majority of the series’ main cast, including Kelly Reilly, Cole Hauser, Luke Grimes, Kelsey Asbille, Wes Bentley, Gil Birmingham, and Jacki Weaver, as well as executive producers Taylor Sheridan and David Glasser.
In a last-minute shake-up that felt like an April Fools’ Day prank, the entire PaleyFest line-up changed with none of the original talent present…
Deadline initially reported in February that Sheridan, Paramount Global, and Paramount Network sought to end the neo-western drama after its current fifth season because of disagreements with the “Field of Dreams” star over shooting schedules.
The actor, who this year won a Golden Globe for his performance as aging rancher John Dutton, reportedly wanted to cut back his number of days on set in Montana to seven for the remaining episodes of season five (presumably because he is working on a Western epic which he is directing, co-writing, and starring in).
[From Insider via Yahoo]
Saying it’s happening and you’re “confident” it will happen are two different things. Yellowstone is currently the most popular network show and it’s in its fifth season. (I watched the first three seasons and enjoyed it, but I disliked how the female characters were portrayed and didn’t want to keep up.) Of course they want Costner to stay on, but the rumors and Paleyfest shake up make it seem like they’re having creative and/or contract issues. Reports claim that Costner wants to film less to focus on his own Western epic.
We’ve also heard that Matthew McConaughey could possibly step in to Yellowstone if Costner leaves. The Hollywood Reporter has an interview with Paramount Media head Chris McCarthy. He said that they want Costner to stay, and that McConaughey’s show is going to be a spinoff. There are already two spinoffs, 1883 and 1923, with two more in the works, 1883: The Bass Reeves Story, and 6666. The Bass Reeves story will star David Oyelowo and is a spinoff of 1883 and 6666 (Four Sixes is how it’s supposedly said, so just call it that?) is set on a ranch in West Texas. That’s the show I’m assuming Texan McConaughey will star in. These spinoff names are confusing. I guess they’re trying to make it clear when they’re set, but why not give them full names instead of just numbers? And give Bass Reeves, the first Black deputy US marshal, his own title without “1883” in it.
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