Matthew McConaughey’s ‘Yellowstone’ Spin-off Is Set to Move Forward – With or Without Kevin Costner

Matthew McConaughey is getting his own star-studded Yellowstone spin-off series, no matter the fate of series lead Kevin Costner.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter about the future of Paramount, Showtime and MTV Entertainment, President Chris McCarthy remained rather tight-lipped about what was next for one of his biggest franchises. But McCarthy did confirm one thing: the McConaughey Yellowstone spin-off is definitely still happening.

Previous reports have claimed the spin-off will include “several” of the show’s “big stars,” though the cast has not been confirmed.

Deadline reported the star was in negotiations in February, amid rumors that Yellowstone Season 5 could be the series’ last due to Costner’s scheduling conflicts.

According to the report, Costner only wanted to film the first half of the season for 50 days as opposed to the 65 he had committed to. Sources also claimed the actor only wanted to spend one week filming the second batch of episodes.

“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,” a Paramount Network spokesperson told Deadline at the time. “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.”

The report claimed Paramount “declined Costner’s most recent proposal and instead has made the decision to move on to the other show.”

McCarthy did not have much to say about Costner’s scheduling conflicts, except to say, “[Yellowstone] wouldn’t be what it is today without Kevin and we hope that that stays for a long time to come.”

But, THR reports that he did confirm that McConaughey’s spin-off series is still moving forward “regardless of whether Costner returns to the original.”

This latest update in the Yellowstone saga leaves us with no confirmation of whether Costner will be returning to the show. But Keith Cox, MTV Entertainment Studios’ President of Scripted, recently revealed that an announcement regarding when production will resume is coming “soon.” He also shared that he was “very confident” that Costner will stay on the series.

The Yellowstone franchise has already reached wild success outside of the billboard show with its two prequel series, 1883 and 1923, allowing the network a bit more flexibility when it comes to the future of the franchise.

Regardless, fans of the franchise may also enjoy one of the many other projects the network has in the works with Sheridan.

With or without Costner, there’s plenty more Yellowstone on the way.