“Yellowstone” co-creator and showrunner Taylor Sheridan is looking to end the show, and has started talking to Matthew McConaughey about a franchise extension, Deadline reported Monday.
Reports from Deadline suggest that Sheridan is seeking to conclude the iconic “Yellowstone” saga, but the extension would continue the Dutton family lineage with McConaughey tipped to star. It’s unclear when all this will happen, but rumors are swirling that the show’s current lead, Kevin Costner, will be exiting the show.
It may be that “Yellowstone” will end after its current season, which is set to return over the summer months of 2023, Deadline noted. However, Paramount is still being cagey about the future of the hit show.
Catholics will be stunned at their portrayal in “1923” https://t.co/Q5pJG3ecak
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) February 6, 2023
“We have no news to report. Kevin Costner is a big part of Yellowstone and we hope that’s the case for a long time to come. Thanks to the brilliant mind of Taylor Sheridan, we are always working on franchise expansions of this incredible world he has built. Matthew McConaughey is a phenomenal talent with whom we’d love to partner,” a Paramount Network spokesperson said to Deadline.
In 2022, we reported that Costner’s wife was urging him to leave the series due to the demanding shooting schedule, and this appears to be part of the push for him to exit the Yellowstone-Dutton Ranch, Deadline noted. Costner apparently limited himself to 65 days of shooting per year, but only wanted to be on set for 50 days for the first half of season five.
Costner, who just won a Golden Globe for his portrayal of John Dutton, only wanted to spend a week filming for the second half of the new season, according to Deadline. His demands have allegedly frustrated Sheridan and let down his fellow cast members. (RELATED: Kevin Costner Earns Over $1 Million Per ‘Yellowstone’ Episode)
Deadline claims that the Paramount Network, which runs the show, declined Costner’s demands and decided to move forward with the other show. Though McConaughey is still in negotiations, it’s thought that Sheridan will write the new project with him as the star.
In slightly more uplifting news, there is a chance that Sheridan will also be creating a prequel series set in the 1940s and the 1960s, Deadline noted. This is all thanks to the incomparable success of previous series, “1883” and “1923.”