- Costner, 68, has reportedly asked for filming time to be “limited” on hit drama series.
- Paramount executives are said to be looking for a way to continue without leading actors
- A new show is on the scene, with Matthew McConaughey rumored to be in talks
Following the success of Yellowstone and numerous prequel spin-offs, Taylor Sheridan has established himself as the “King of Western TV”, delivering hit after hit for Paramount+ in recent years.
However, as word spread that his most popular series could come to an abrupt end with the current season’s finale, all eyes are on the showrunner to see if the 52-year-old can once again work his magic without his flagship series .
Despite the show’s incredible ratings, it has been reported that lead actor Kevin Costner is trying to limit his filming time to work on his own western passion project.
The actor’s time at Yellowstone could now be coming to an end with the second half of the current season, which aired its eighth episode in early January and is set to return in the summer.
Any changes in Costner’s role would have a massive impact on how the show tells the story of the Duttons, a family that owns the largest ranch in the United States.
Man of the hour: Taylor Sheridan, 52, continues to build his TV empire after signing a $200 million pact with Paramount+ in February 2021 that runs through 2028. Unexpectedly, his flagship series Yellowstone could end this summer , after leading man Kevin Costner, 68, reportedly asked to reduce his filming requirements
It has been claimed by Deadline that Paramount Network executives are now looking to Sheridan to find a way to move on without Costner, 68.
While many viewers would be devastated to stop enjoying Costner’s Golden Globe-winning performance as patriarch John Dutton, Sheridan might well use this as a chance to prove his television empire is bigger than his stars.
In fact, his sprawling Yellowstone TV universe continues to grow after it was revealed that the actor-turned-screenwriter plans to create two more prequel series following the success of 1883 and 1923.
The new shows were reportedly set to take place at the Dutton family ranch in the 1940s and 1960s, proving that Sheridan still has plenty of inspiration when it comes to expanding the Dutton family stories.
In fact, it’s also been reported that Hollywood superstar Matthew McConaughey, 53, could be the latest big name Sheridan brings to his TV empire in upcoming modern spin-off 6666.
Elsewhere, Sheridan is also enjoying success with many of his other projects outside of the Yellowstone universe. His show Tulsa King, starring Sylvester Stallone, and the drama series Mayor of Kingston, starring Jeremy Renner, have been well received by viewers and critics alike.
These are just a few of many projects the writer-director has created as part of his reported $200 million pact with Paramount+, which he signed in February 2021 and runs through 2028.
Here, DailyMail.com reveals how Taylor Sheridan seems poised to keep his TV universe going – even if Kevin Costner leaves the Yellowstone franchise.
Moving on with Matthew McConaughey? Sheridan is on the lookout for the Oscar winner for his latest Yellowstone spin-off
Game changer: Showrunner Sheridan (left) was said to have been upset by Costner’s suggestion (pictured together at the Television Critics Association winter press tour in 2018). Starring: Costner recently won a Golden Globe for his performance as John Dutton, the patriarch of the Dutton clan on the hit television show
Big changes appear to be on the horizon for Yellowstone after it was reported that Kevin Costner, 68, asked to further limit the number of days he spends filming the programme.
Sources familiar with the negotiations say Costner has already limited himself to 65 days of filming and then plans to shoot only 50 days for the first half of the current season.
But for the second half of season five, sources told Deadline, the actor only wanted to spend a week filming.
The request was made because Costner is now directing and starring in his own multi-part western epic, Horizon, which he co-wrote with Jon Baird.
Unknown sources familiar with the negotiations said Paramount network executives have turned down the star’s offer – instead going ahead with a new spin-off series starring Matthew McConaughey.
The True Detective actor is already in talks with the network about a new show to air on Paramount Network and stream exclusively on Paramount+.
In a statement, a spokesman for Paramount Network would neither confirm nor deny the news, saying only, “Kevin Costner is a big part of Yellowstone and we hope that will be the case for a long time to come.
“Thanks to the brilliant mind of Taylor Sheridan, we continue to work on franchise expansions of this incredible world he built.”
The next big thing? Paramount Network executives are now said to be eager to move forward with a modern day spin-off series starring Matthew McConaughey, 53 (pictured in 2014) and Rust Cohle in the 2013 crime series True Detective
The rep added, “Matthew McConaughey is a phenomenal talent who we’d love to work with.”
Not much is known about the new series, which currently has the working title 6666.
A brief description on IMDB reads: “Established when the Comanches still ruled west Texas, no ranch in America is more steeped in western history than the 6666. It still functions as it did two centuries ago and encompasses an entire county, the 6666 here the rule of law and the laws of nature merge in a place where the most dangerous is next.
“The 6666 is synonymous with a relentless pursuit to breed the best horses and livestock in the world and ultimately where world-class cowboys are born and made.”
Landing McConaughey in the lead role would likely result in the actor delivering a performance that could garner the same level of critical acclaim as his days as Rust Cohle on crime drama True Detective.
Time will tell if Sheridan would be able to pull off another award-winning twist from the esteemed actor.
Expanding the franchise: The TV king continues to find success with spin-off shows like 1883 and 1923
Hitmaker: Sheridan has expanded the world of Yellowstone with the 1883 and 1923 prequel series (pictured here in December 2021). Sheridan (left) begins with Sam Elliott (right), who stars in the 1883 Yellowstone prequel
The Yellowstone franchise is booming after the prequel show’s successful debuts in 1883 and 1923.
Fans were thrilled when Paramount+ confirmed the first prequel series would hit screens in 2021, with the show going back to show the beginning of the Dutton family empire.
The star-studded series expanded on the story of James Dutton, played by Tim McGraw, and Margaret Dutton, played by wife Faith Hill, and detailed the family’s journey from Fort Worth, Texas to Montana to found what would eventually become the Yellowstone should become a ranch.
The likes of Hollywood icon Tom Hanks made cameo appearances during the 10-episode run, along with real-life wife Rita Wilson, Graham Greene, Dawn Olivieri and Emma Malouff.
Meanwhile, veteran western cowboys Sam Elliot, Isabel May, LaMonica Garrett, Marc Rissmann, Audie Rick, Eric Nelsen and James Landry Hébert made up the core cast.
Despite becoming the most watched series of all time on Paramount+ worldwide, Sheridan confirmed in February 2022 that 1883 would not be returning for a second season.
Although Paramount happily teased “more” of 1883, it was revealed that the story would instead continue in the form of another prequel series.
Originally titled in 1932, the series was retitled in 1923 when it was revealed that film legends Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren would star Jacob and Cara Dutton in the series about the next two generations of the family.
Taking place 40 years after the first prequel series, the show follows the Duttons “as they struggle to survive historic drought, lawlessness and prohibition, and an epidemic of cattle rustling”.
In addition, they also deal with the “Great Depression of Montana,” which occurred a few years before the Great Depression of 1929.
The series was originally set during the Great Depression before being pushed back nine years earlier after World War I.
Discussing his approach to spin-offs at the time of publication, Sheridan explained, “I created this look through time to show you this one particular journey. I’m not someone who likes to tie everything in a bow and explain how everyone may or may not have lived happily ever after.”
Star cast: Movie legends Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren play members of the Dutton family in 1923. A hit: 7.4 million viewers watched the first episode of the Origin story series, which was renewed for a second season. Big Business: Horses at the Real Four Sixes Ranch, which Sheridan used as a location for “Yellowstone” and “1883” and could probably be the set for “6666”.
He then explained that he didn’t view 1883 or 1923 as “spin-offs,” but “as complete stories that share common roots.”
“My goal for the next one would be for you to never see Yellowstone or 1883 and still have a fully realized experience as a viewer,” Sheridan added.
He said there are “real Easter eggs” for fans that “affect the way you see Yellowstone.”
“I like this model. For me as a storyteller, it feels like the end. I will peek through the window of another era and see what I see then,” he added.
According to Deadline, Sheridan is also reportedly eyeing two other Yellowstone prequel limited series that would be set on the Dutton family ranch in the 1940s and 1960s.
In fact, the showrunner is currently in Texas to begin work directing the pilot episodes of 1883: The Bass Reeves Story starring David Oyelowo.
The six-part limited series stars the British actor-star as the legendary ex-slave turned legendary Wild West lawyer.
Elsewhere, 6666 seems poised to take the modern drama with a Western flair as Yellowstone and present it in a whole new setting. It’s set at the Four Sixes Ranch in Texas and is set to debut later this year.
Sent to the 6666 to work for most of the show’s fourth appearance, Yellowstone ranch hand Jimmy introduced the new ranch, suggesting that a few select characters could return in the spin-off.
In 2020, Sheridan bought the real-life Four Sixes Ranch in Texas with a group of investors.
He also owns Bosque Ranch in Weatherford and a third in Jacksboro – where he raises both horses and cattle.
Some of the ranches even served as filming locations for Yellowstone and 1883, with the creator also lending his horses for filming.
Maintaining his television empire: Focusing on shows like Mayor of Kingstown and Tulsa King
In addition to being busy with his Yellowstone-related projects, Sheridan continued to develop both television shows and films. Sylvester Stallone in Tulsa King at Paramount+Jeremy Renner in Mayor of Kingstown at Paramount+
Sheridan wasn’t just busy with his Yellowstone-related projects.
As part of its longstanding partnership with Paramount+, the creator has directed two successful seasons of the thriller-drama Mayor of Kingston.
Starring Jeremy Renner, the series follows a family of Kingstown, Michigan rulers as they make money from the city’s prison by any means possible.
Sheridan and co-creator Hugh Dillion are already working on season three, although filming and release timing could be heavily impacted by Renner’s recovery from a recent accident in which the actor sustained horrific injuries after being rolled over by seven-tonne snow had been plough.
Meanwhile, the author’s more recent publication is also getting a lot of praise. Tulsa King is a crime drama series starring Hollywood icon Sylvester Stallone and about a New York City gangster.
The veteran actor plays Dwight “The General” Mandfredi, who was released from prison after 25 years and is now sent to establish a mafia presence in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
After the debut season became the second biggest Paramount+ hit after 1923, it was confirmed that the series would return for another show.
Just like Yellowstone, the series could take on some spin-offs in the future.
Tanya Giles, head of streaming at Paramount Global, told Indiewire, “The huge success we’ve had with Tulsa King and Sylvester Stallone opens up possibilities with Taylor Sheridan … his mind works in terms of universes and backstories, so I think that there is always a possibility There is more to this universe and more to this story. There’s more to come.”
More hits up his sleeve: Sheridan is working on more new shows starring Hollywood powerhouses
Nicole Kidman will play CIA Senior Supervisor Kaitlyn Meade in The Lioness. Zoe Saldana will star as station manager Joe in The Lioness
So far it has been announced that Sheridan has written a spy-based drama which will be starring actresses Zoe Saldana and Nicole Kidman.
A snapshot of Sheridan’s author credits
2015: Sicario
2016: Hell or High Water
2017: Wind Flow
2018: Sicario: Day of the Soldado
2018-2023: Yellowstone
2019: The Last Cowboy
2021: Those who wish me dead
2021-2022: 1883
2021–2022: Mayor of Kingstown
2022-2023: Tulsa King
2022-2023: 1923
TBC: lioness
TB: Fast
TBC: 6666
The show, titled Lioness, is a political spy thriller about a young Marine, played by Laysla De Oliveira, who is recruited by the CIA to befriend a terrorist’s daughter.
Best known for playing villain Dodge in the Netflix fantasy horror series Locke & Key, de Oliveira will play lead character Cruz Manuelos, who joins the CIA’s Lioness program.
The idea behind the operation is to bring down the organization from within.
Saldana will star as Joe, the Lioness program station director.
Her character is tasked with training and guiding her female undercover agents.
Kidman is executive producing the series along with Saldana and will star as CIA Senior Supervisor Kaitlyn Meade, who has a long history of playing and surviving the political game.
Sam Asghari, husband of Brittney Spears, will guest-star as Kamal, an uncompromising womanizer.
85-year-old Oscar winner Morgan Freeman recently joined the cast to take on the role of US Secretary of State Edwin Mullin.
Elsewhere, Sheridan will once again team up with Billy Bob Thornton for a TV series called Land Man.
The program will see Thornton Star as a crisis manager for an oil company based on the Boomtown podcast.
Hollywood action star Chris Pratt has also been linked to a project by Sheridan called Fast.
The action thriller follows an ex-POS (Pratt) recruited by the DEA to lead a black ops squad targeting drug dealers protected by the CIA.
The project was first mentioned in 2018, with Sheridan set to write and direct the project.
However, the film appears to be on an ongoing hiatus due to the showrunner’s many other projects.