For well over a year there has been reported tension between Kevin Costner and Taylor Sheridan, specifically in regard to the final episodes of Yellowstone. Now, as the actor’s film Horizon: An American Saga prepares to premiere on the 2024 movie schedule, he’s been chatting about said conflict. He’s also been asked about other potential points of tension, like his movie and Sheridan’s show 1883 sharing similar stories. Now, he’s addressed it, adding a bit of fuel to the fire that Yellowstone stories might borrow from other Westerns.
During the Cannes premiere of his movie Horizon: An American Saga – which got mixed reactions from critics – Kevin Costner was asked by IndieWire if he could improve Taylor Sheridan’s show. He said “No, of course not,” and then added that during the second season of Yellowstone, the creator was looking for writers, and Costner and his Horizon co-writer Jon Baird sent him the script for their movie. It was then mentioned by journalist Anne Thompson that both Sheridan’s 1883 and Costner’s movie featured a wagon train storyline. In response, the John Dutton actor said:
So I don’t know if there’s any duplications there. Whether he borrowed something, only he’d have to admit to.
The story went on to explain that Reddit users have pointed out other similarities between Sheridan’s work and other Westerns. Storylines that mirror Lonesome Dove, The Calder Saga, Tombstone and Costner’s Oscar-winning movie Dances with Wolves were all mentioned.
While this critique is valid, the report also noted that Westerns like these are common, and focus on a similar period of American history – the late 1800s during the times of the Civil War, the Oregon Trail and the “last spike of the Great Northern Railway.” With that in mind, and considering the number of cowboy movies and shows out there, it’s challenging to find new ways of telling stories like these. In fact, this is a challenge a ton of projects in all sorts of genres face.
However, the story also noted that Kevin Costner’s movie has drawn comparisons to Yellowstone and its spinoff 1883. The saga will be multiple parts long, it includes actors who have starred in Sheridan’s shows, and the article said the movies are structured kind of like a series.
With all that in mind, as Kevin Costner and Jon Baird said, Sheridan did read the script for Horizon a long time ago, and that seemed to allude to the idea that there might be similarities between 1883 and Horizon. However, if they’re intentional is something he can’t speak to.
Both Horizon and the final episodes of Yellowstone are coming out this year. For a long time now, the question of whether Costner would come back as John Dutton on Taylor Sheridan’s show has loomed large, and now he’s been clear that scheduling issues and not having scripts were the reasons behind his decision to focus on his movie instead of the show.
So, at this point, with the series now in production and its possibly former lead actor working on Horizon right now, it’s looking like he won’t be coming back to the Yellowstone cast.
If more news comes out about these comparisons of Horizon and Taylor Sheridan's work, we’ll be sure to keep you posted. In the meantime, mark your calendars on June 28 and August 16, so you don’t miss Kevin Costner’s Horizon: An American Saga Chapters 1 and 2. Also, keep an eye on the 2024 TV schedule, where you will find the premiere date for the final episodes of Yellowstone once it's announced.
