'Yellowstone' in Transitional Phase Amid Kevin Costner's Supposed Exit; Series will End with Matthew McConaughey Leading New Franchise Extension

by Darian Scalamoni

    It appears that cable's number one drama series may be getting a makeover due to some issues with the star of Yellowstone. Deadline has broken down an extensive report that John Dutton himself, Kevin Costner, may be stepping away from the series after the second half of the current fifth season due to a disagreement via the shooting schedule. Never fear though, as the article also states that Paramount architect and Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan has reached out to Matthew McConaughey who is in talks to star in a new extension of the flagship series with other major players within the show headed over to join him.

    It's unclear which of the current Yellowstone stars will move over into the new series with McConaughey but it's expected to be several of the biggest characters within the show, meaning Kelly Reilly, Wes Bentley, Luke Grimes, Cole Hauser, Gil Birmingham and Kelsey Asbille are being considered. Sources say that the center of the issue with Costner is that he had said to wanted to wane down his shooting schedule from the usual 65-day shoot into a 50-day shoot for the first half of season 5. However, when filming commenced for the second half of Season 5, Costner wanted to only shoot for a week. This may be due to his current multi-part Western epic film, Horizon being in production. Costner co-wrote, is directing and co-starring with Sam Worthington, Sienna Miller and Jamie Campbell Bower.

    Due to the fact that Costner's character of John Dutton is the patriarch of the series and Dutton ranch itself, it's led to frustration from not only Sheridan but the rest of the cast as well. The current sentiment amongst the production is that the show will likely end with the second half of the fifth season being the conclusion. Meanwhile, it is not known whether the McConaughey-led extension will take place on the Dutton ranch, in Montana or somewhere else entirely. 

    Paramount is said to be ready to move on, especially due to McConaughey's star power and the rest of the series in tow for Sheridan which include Dutton-centered spin offs 1883 and 1923 which are doing great numbers for the Paramount+ streaming service. Additionally, Sheridan currently has Tulsa King and Mayor of Kingstown on the streamer, with Lioness starring Zoe Saldana, Nicole Kidman and Morgan Freeman wrapping up filming this week. Bass Reeves starring David Oyelowo is currently shooting while the Billy Bob Thornton-starrer Land Man begins filming in May. Sheridan is clearly the busiest man in Hollywood.

    McConaughey most recently appeared on screen back in 2019 for Guy Ritchie's The Gentleman. Since then, he's done voice work in animation such as Sing 2, reprising the role of Buster Moon and just today was announced by Netflix to be voicing Elvis Presley in adult animated series Agent Elvis for the platform. The Oscar-winning actor is also attached to play U.S. women's soccer coach Bill Kinder in the film Dallas Sting. 

    What are your thoughts that McConaughey is headed to Yellowstone to replace Kevin Costner? Are you upset about the loss of John Dutton, the patriarch of the cable drama? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!