Matthew McConaughey arrives on the red carpet of The 90th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre in Hollywood, CA on Sunday, March 4, 2018. Credit/Provider: Scott Diussa / A.M.P.A.S. Copyright: A.M.P.A.S.
Beyond the basic idea of “a romantic caper set in Positano” (which in case you’re unaware is a picturesque, cliffside village on Italy’s Amalfi Coast, famous for its colorful, vertically stacked houses, steep narrow streets, luxury boutiques, and beautiful pebble beaches like Spiaggia Grande), not much is known about the story.
Writers Alessandro Tanaka and Brian Gatewood crafted the script as a spec, which caught the attention of the team at Working Title.
They got it to director Daniel Roher, whose most recent movie, ‘Tuner’ starring Dustin Hoffman and Leo Woodall, made its debut at last year’s Telluride Film Festival and will be at Sundance next month, and he signed on to direct.
McConaughey and Saldaña boarded shortly after and Netflix picked up the project.
Where else can we see Matthew McConaughey and Zoe Saldaña?
McConaughey was most recently seen in Apple original movie ‘The Lost Bus’ and is attached to a couple of projects that will reunite him with ‘True Detective’ creator Nic Pizzolatto; a new, untitled TV series and a movie based on the Mike Hammer character.
He’s also been at work on a TV series co-starring Woody Harrelson, though that one has hit some creative wobbles during shooting.
Saldaña scored a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for ‘Emilia Pérez’ back in March, voiced a character in Disney/Pixar’s ‘Elio’ and is back on screens right now in ‘Avatar: Fire & Ash.’
When will ‘Positano’ be on screens?
There’s no word on when ‘Positano’ might be in theaters, or even if, given Netflix’s attitude to its movie output. But it could be ready for some point in 2027.
Zoe Saldaña at the Disney presentation at CinemaCon 2025 in Las Vegas. Photo: Disney.
Paul Greengrass can direct this sort of ripped-from-the-headlines drama with one hand tied behind his back; he’s proved time and again that he’s capable of wringing real emotion out of human chaos.
Fortunately, ‘The Lost Bus’ finds him fully in control of his faculties as a filmmaker, keeping the focus sharp and largely side-stepping cliches like a bus careening away from falling power lines.
Script and Direction
Director Paul Greengrass on the set of ‘The Lost Bus,’ now streaming on Apple TV+.
Written by Brad Ingelsby (no stranger to either taught, tense drama or against-the-odds stories having created such projects as ‘Mare of Easttown’) and Greengrass, the new movie doesn’t seek to sensationalize the devastating events of the Camp Fire that tore through the town of Paradise in California and its environs, but keeps its eye largely on the occupants of the bus.
Greengrass near documentary style keeps things compelling as the disaster erupts around the community, stopping in on the fire fighting forces trying to tame the deadly blaze and those in charge of running the school bus system that proves vital to the evacuation.
Naturally, the focus is on the two leads and the kids aboard the bus, who all give good, naturalistic performances. A lot of weight is given early on to Kevin McKay’s (McConaughey) frustrations in life and fractured relationship with his son, but that’s mostly to provide drive for him as he seeks to save his young charges then get back to his own child.
But one other performance deserves a shout-out: Ashlie Atkinson, who is superb as Ruby, the manager/dispatcher at the bus depot, who initially clashes with Kevin, but soon shows her own spine of steels as the crisis worsens.
Final Thoughts
It might be a fairly standard version of the heroic small-town true story, but in Greengrass’ hands it’s scary, impressive and watchable.
Kudos also to the effects team, who bring the various fires to such vivid life you might feel yourself getting warm.
‘The Lost Bus’ receives 80 out of 100.
‘The Lost Bus,’ now streaming on Apple TV+.
What’s the story of ‘The Lost Bus’?
‘The Lost Bus’ is a white-knuckle ride through one of America’s deadliest wildfires as a wayward school bus driver (Matthew McConaughey) and a dedicated school teacher (America Ferrera) battle to save 22 children from the terrifying inferno.
Matthew McConaughey arrives on the red carpet of The 90th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre in Hollywood, CA on Sunday, March 4, 2018. Credit/Provider: Scott Diussa / A.M.P.A.S. Copyright: A.M.P.A.S.
Preview:
Matthew McConaughey is reuniting with ‘True Detective’s Nic Pizzolatto for a new show.
Cole Hauser will co-star.
Netflix has landed the project.
Matthew McConaughey and ‘True Detective’ creator Nic Pizzolatto have long talked about how much they enjoyed collaborating, and while it seems that the latter is well out of the ‘Detective’ world now, he has created a new show, which has McConaughey circling a lead role.
Much of what the show itself will be about remains under wraps for now –– the only real detail seems to be that McConaughey and Hauser would play brothers.
And the fact that Skydance Sports is producing the show would indicate that it’ll have a sporting theme.
Those details will emerge in time –– and the project is still listed as just in development.
Where else can we see Matthew McConaughey and Cole Hauser?
Cole Hauser as Rip Wheeler in Paramount Network’s ‘Yellowstone’ season 5. Credit: Paramount Network.
McConaughey starred in this March’s ‘The Rivals of Amziah King’, and he’ll be seen this fall in ‘The Lost Bus’, a true-life tale about a bus driver who saved kids during the Camp Fire in California.
Directed by Paul Greengrass, it’ll premiere at the Toronto Film Festival next month.
The actor is also attached to star in a Mike Hammer adaptation, which coincidentally has Pizzolatto writing that script and Hauser also circling a role.
And then we have ‘Brother from Another Mother,’ another sibling series, this one for Apple, in which McConaughey stars with one other good friend –– his ‘True Detective’ co-star Woody Harrelson. The show appears to be going through some creative difficulties on its road to the screen, swapping showrunners and re-shooting some scenes.
As for Hauser, he got a big career boost with ‘Yellowstone’ and will be reprising his role as Rip Wheeler in the latest spin-off, ‘The Dutton Ranch’.
When will the new McConaughey/Hauser/Pizzolatto show be on screens?
Since the deals are still being figured out, we wouldn’t expect this one to be in production much before the end of the year or early 2026 so we’ll be waiting for the show.
Matthew McConaughey in season 1 of ‘True Detective’. Photo: HBO.
(Left) Matthew McConaughey in season 1 of ‘True Detective’. Photo: HBO. (Right) Stacy Keach as Mike Hammer in ‘Mike Hammer, Private Eye’. Photo: The Kushner-Locke Company.
Preview:
Matthew McConaughey is in talks to play Mike Hammer.
‘True Detective’s Nic Pizzolatto will write the script.
It’ll be based on Mickey Spillane’s and Max Allan Collins’ Mike Hammer franchise.
According to Deadline, McConaughey is in talks to star in a new adaptation of the Mike Hammer detective novels, with Pizzolatto writing the script.
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Skydance acquired the rights to Mickey Spillane’s and Max Allan Collins’ Hammer franchise with plans to develop and produce the bestselling book series into a movie
Stacy Keach as Mike Hammer in ‘Mike Hammer, Private Eye’. Photo: The Kushner-Locke Company.
Mike Hammer as a character was created by the American author Spillane.
He debuted in the 1947 book ‘I, the Jury’ as a no-holds-barred private investigator whose love for his secretary Velda is outweighed only by his willingness to kill a killer.
Hammer’s best friend is Pat Chambers, Captain of NYPD Homicide, and the ‘tec was a World War II army veteran who spent two years fighting jungle warfare in the Pacific Ocean theater against Japan.
With more than 250 million copies of Hammer books sold globally, it often is recognized as the most popular American mystery/thriller series of all time. Hammer is credited with inspiring numerous other characters including Dirty Harry, Jack Reacher and James Bond, who Ian Fleming famously referred to as “the British answer to Mike Hammer.”
There were also comic books, and Collins took over writing the character in 2008 with the series of novels ending this year.
Hammer has not had a chance for any feature film treatment thanks to a long-winded rights dispute. Spillane passed away in 2006, one month after the death of his manager Jay Bernstein. Bernstein’s estate claimed ownership of the character. Ken F. Levin spent several years in court before the rights came back to the author’s estate and a clear title could be delivered for a movie deal.
What else has Matthew McConaughey been working on?
Matthew McConaughey in season 1 of ‘True Detective’. Photo: HBO.
McConaughey’s movie career has been a little quieter of late –– he hasn’t appeared on the big screen in person since 2019’s crime caper ‘The Gentlemen.’ He did, however, lend his voice to animated sequel ‘Sing 2’ (2021) and the various short films around it.
And this year will see him starring in two films –– Apple Original Film’s ‘The Lost Bus,’ about a bus driver who helped to rescue stranded kids during the 2018 Camp Fire in California.
His other most recent movie, ‘The Rivals of Amziah King,’ which sees him playing a foster parent reuniting with one of his former charges, debuted at the SXSW Film Festival this past March.
Finally, there is the planned reunion with ‘True Detective’ co-star Woody Harrelson –– he played detective Marty Hart to McConaughey’s detective Rust Cohle –– in a new Apple TV+ series which will see the old friends playing brothers.
Reuniting with Pizzolatto, who created the much-talked about first season of ‘True Detective’, makes sense, and there’s a chance Pizzolatto could return to that world, since the actors have expressed a desire to revisit the roles.
“I actually have another story for Cohle and Hart that, who knows, maybe we’ll do it one day,” he began, adding that he didn’t feel beholden to continuing the inaugural season’s storyline: “But no, there is pressure, but I don’t really feel or respond to pressure that way. I get pressure [from] myself and beyond that it doesn’t exist so much for me and pressure tends to more revolve around, am I discharging my duty correctly for me?”
When will the Mike Hammer movie investigate the inside of theaters?
With no director attached yet, and no actual distributor (though Skydance may well release it via Paramount Pictures if its merger goes through), there’s zero sign of a release date at this point.
Matthew McConaughey will star in new historical drama ‘The Rage.’
Paul Greengrass is directing.
It’s a reunion for the pair following the upcoming ‘The Lost Bus.’
Is Matthew McConaughey the new Matt Damon? No, we don’t mean he’s taking over Damon’s role as Jason Bourne… he’s instead become a repeat creative collaborator with writer/director Paul Greengrass, who worked with Damon on several films, including some of the ‘Bourne’ franchise.
McConaughey, meanwhile, starred for Greengrass in wildfire drama ‘The Lost Bus’ (more on that below), and is now in talks to take another leading role, this time in history-based drama ‘The Rage.’
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According to Deadline, McConaughey will play a key figure in the new movie, which Greengrass is gearing up to direct next.
It’s certainly in keeping with much of Greengrass’ work, which outside of the ‘Bourne’ films, often focuses on real-life events and high drama.
Matthew McConaughey arrives on the red carpet of The 90th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre in Hollywood, CA on Sunday, March 4, 2018. Credit/Provider: Scott Diussa / A.M.P.A.S. Copyright: A.M.P.A.S.
The new movie, which Greengrass also wrote, is set to take place during the Peasants’ Revolt, a major uprising that took part across large parts of England in 1381 in response to socio-economic and political tensions and high taxation.
McConaughey is on for the role to play a farmer who becomes the leader of the revolt (which could indicate that he’s playing the legendary Wat Tyler, who led the uprising before being killed by forces loyal to King Richard, but that has yet to be confirmed).
Interestingly, the former title of the movie was ‘The Hood,’ since Tyler is one of the real-life people that has been taken as inspiration for the legend of Robin Hood (whose historical provenance is somewhat cloudier).
This is not the first incarnation of the movie; Greengrass previously set it up in 2022 with Benedict Cumberbatch attached to the Tyler role, and FilmNation (which is still aboard to represent the movie) had the rights for sale at that year’s Cannes Film Festival.
What is ‘The Lost Bus’?
Matthew McConaughey backstage during the live ABC Telecast of The 90th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre in Hollywood, CA on Sunday, March 4, 2018. Credit/Provider: Matt Sayles / A.M.P.A.S. Copyright: A.M.P.A.S.
‘The Lost Bus’ has been a passion project for Jamie Lee Curtis since 2022, after hearing Lizzie Johnson talk about her book ‘Paradise: One Town’s Struggle to Survive an American Wildfire’ on the Camp Fire situation in an NPR interview. She investigated the rights and set it up with Blumhouse, where her Comet Pictures company has a first-look deal.
It follows heroic bus driver Kevin McKay (McConaughey in the film) and school teacher Mary Ludwig (America Ferrera), who helped navigate a bus full of children through the deadly wildfire as the town of Paradise in California is caught in the destruction and chaos. The fire destroyed most of the mountain town and killed 85.
‘Out Of The Furnace’s Brad Ingelsby adapted the script based on the book, and Greengrass came aboard as director in 2023.
Despite delays due to the strikes, it shot last year and seems certain to have particular resonance this year following the devastating fires in the territory north of Los Angeles.
This movie follows a young woman named Kateri (Angelina LookingGlass), whose life takes a tragic turn when she loses her mother and leaves foster care.
Reuniting with her former foster parent, Amziah (McConaughey), changes everything: he becomes her mentor, revealing hidden skills when a devastating situation arises. Kateri relies on her newfound strength to seek justice.
‘The Rivals of Amziah King’ will premiere at this year’s SXSW festival in March.
But that’s not all that McConaughey is attached to: he’s also preparing to star in Apple TV+ comedy series which was formerly known as ‘Brother from Another Mother’ (but is listed as untitled right now) alongside old pal Woody Harrelson.
The 10-episode half-hour Apple TV+ comedy from ‘The Big Door Prize’ showrunner David West Read reunites Harrelson and McConaughey, who play heightened versions of themselves in a heartfelt odd couple love story revolving around their strange and beautiful sibling-like bond.
Matthew and Woody’s close friendship is tested when their combined families attempt to live together on Matthew’s ranch in Texas. Break out the bongs –– and the bongos –– and let the bonding commence!
Deadline brings word that Holland Taylor is now aboard the show as a fellow regular, playing McConaughey’s mother, Ma Mac.
Taylor, a veteran of stage and screen, was most recently seen in the likes of ‘Quiz Lady’ and scored her ninth Emmy nomination for her role in one of Apple’s big TV series ‘The Morning Show.’
When will ‘The Rage’ be in theaters?
‘The Rage’ is a project currently looking for a buyer, and its rights will be on sale at this year’s European Film Market in Berlin, so there is no release date to speak of as of yet.
On the other hand, ‘The Lost Bus’ will arrive this year via Apple (whether that means it hits theaters or goes straight to Apple TV+ remains to be seen).
Matthew McConaughey in ‘The Gentlemen.’ Photo: STX films.
(Left) Kyle Chandler in ‘Friday Night Lights’. Photo: Universal Television. (Left) DC Comics’ Green Lantern. Photo: DC Comics.
Preview:
Kyle Chandler is in talks to play Hal Jordan in DC’s ‘Lanterns’ series.
Josh Brolin was previously offered the role.
Damon Lindelof and Chris Mundy are among the producers of the new show.
Josh Brolin may not have agreed to the solemn duty of wearing and using the Green Lantern ring for the long-gestating DC StudiosTV series for HBO based on the comic book property, but now we know who –– at least is in talks to do so –– as Deadline has learned that ‘Friday Night Lights’ veteran Kyle Chandler is in talks for the Hal Jordan role originally offered to Brolin.
With the show finally up and heading into a more solid production phase, we can expect to hear more casting news soon.
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What’s the story of ‘Green Lantern’ in comics form?
DC Comics’ Hal Jordan/Green Lantern. Photo courtesy of DC.com.
Created in its first incarnation (a Lantern named Alan Scott) in 1940 by Martin Nodell and Bill Finger, the concept of the ‘Green Lantern’ comics is that of a super-powered, police force, battling evil doers with rings that allow them to channel energy into different forms. There are many Lanterns, who patrol the known and unknown universe.
‘Green Lantern’s history on screen has been seriously mixed. Though different takes on the character have flourished in animated movies and series, their live-action counterparts have had less luck. Ryan Reynolds played the Hal Jordan version in a 2011 movie that didn’t triumph at the box office, and there have been fleeting glimpses on the small screen.
Even Zack Snyder didn’t manage to realize his chosen Lantern –– John Stewart –– in his mammoth Snyder Cut of ‘Justice League’. Despite shooting a cameo with Wayne T. Carr as Stewart, Warners asked him to remove the character because of the studio’s own plans. In the end, Snyder swapped in Martian Manhunter.
(Center) James Gunn and the cast of ‘Superman.’ Photo: James Gunn’s Instagram Account.
And the show had been in development before Gunn and Safran made their big announcement. Back in 2020, ‘Pride and Prejudice and Zombies’ Seth Grahame-Smith hopped aboard to write and run what HBO Max (as the streaming service was then called) was picturing its most expensive series to date, a space-set ‘Green Lantern’ drama whose focus would be the Alan Scott and Guy Gardner iterations of the character among the first and most popular versions.
‘Lanterns’ will follow the Hal Jordan and John Stewart characters, as new recruit Stewart and Lantern legend Jordan are described in the latest official synopsis as “two intergalactic cops drawn into a dark, earth-based mystery as they investigate a murder in the American heartland.”
Who is working on ‘Lanterns’?
(L to R) Green Lanterns Hal Jordan and John Stewart from DC Comics. Photo: DC Comics.
And, according to Jeff Sneider, there have been talks for Lindelof’s ‘Watchmen’ collaborator, director Stephen Williams, to handle the first episode of the new series.
According to various sources, the likes of Matthew McConaughey, Chris Pine and Ewan McGregor were all on the radar for this one around the time that Brolin was being approached. But it would seem that the team has at least locked into one of its leads, with the John Stewart news still to come.
Matthew McConaughey in ‘The Gentlemen.’ Photo: STX films.
Preview:
Matthew McConaughey is in talks for ‘The Lost Bus’.
Paul Greengrass is considering directing.
Jamie Lee Curtis developed the project based on a real-life story.
It’s been a couple of years since we’ve seen Matthew McConaughey on our screens (that would be in Guy Ritchie’s 2019 movie ‘The Gentlemen’, though he reprised his voice role as ambitious koala Buster Moon in 2021’s ‘Sing 2’), but if Apple and Blumhouse have their way, he’ll be back.
According to Deadline, he’s locking in a deal to star in ‘The Lost Bus’, a new based-on-truth thriller that is headed our way from Blumhouse and Apple Original Films. But despite the Blumhouse company being involved, this isn’t a horror film –– unless you hate fire, perhaps (which is far from the most illogical fear).
Instead, this will draw from a real life act of bravery by two ordinary people in an extraordinary situation.
Matthew McConaughey in ‘Killer Joe.’ Photo: LD Entertainment.
The movie will chart the efforts heroic bus driver Kevin McKay and school teacher Mary Ludwig, who helped navigate a bus full of children through the deadly wildfire as the town of Paradise is caught in the destruction and chaos. The fire destroyed most of the mountain town and killed 85.
‘Out Of The Furnace’s Brad Ingelsby adapted the script from Lizzie Johnson’s book ‘Paradise: One Town’s Struggle to Survive an American Wildfire’, which chronicled the deadly incident.
Who is behind ‘The Lost Bus’?
Jamie Lee Curtis poses backstage with the Oscar® for Actress in a Supporting Role during the live ABC telecast of the 95th Oscars® at Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 12, 2023.
The new movie has been a passion project for Jamie Lee Curtis since 2022, after hearing Johnson talk about the book in an NPR interview. She investigated the rights and set it up with Blumhouse, where her Comet Pictures company has a first-look deal.
He was interested, but forward momentum last year was stymied by the writers and actors’ strikes that shut down development and potential shooting.
Matthew McConaughey in ‘Dallas Buyers Club.’ Photo: Focus Features.
Now though, with McConaughey negotiating to star (Deadline isn’t clear on whether Curtis will appear in the film, though she could conceivably play Mary Ludwig as well as producing) and Greengrass considering making this his next film, this one looks set to speed up quickly, especially since Apple is looking to back the movie.
The director is also attached to adapt T.J. Newman’s book ‘Drowning’ (about passengers and crew trapped in a crashed, sinking plane), but from the looks of this, he’s planning to make ‘The Lost Bus’ a priority before he moves on to the plane film.
Actors Woody Harrelson (L) and Matthew McConaughey speak onstage at the 66th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards held at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on August 25, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. Photo by Lester Cohen/WireImage.
(L to R) Kevin Costner as John Dutton III, Kelly Reilly as Bethany “Beth” Dutton, and Wes Bentley as Jamie Dutton in Paramount Network’s ‘Yellowstone’ season 5. Credit: Paramount Network.
And now he’s been talking to The Hollywood Reporter about his plans for more from the main franchise. ‘Yellowstone’, which stars Kevin Costner as the powerful, gruff patriarch of a wealthy ranching family in modern-day Montana. It has since spawned prequels such as ‘1883’ and ‘1923’ and has scope for other shows.
One big one is a modern-day sequel series called ‘6666’, about the Four Sixes ranch in Texas (a real-life property as opposed to the fictional Dutton property from the series, but also featured in the show). The new show is likely to feature a mostly new cast, led by Matthew McConaughey, who is in negotiations.
Matthew McConaughey in director Yann Demange’s ‘White Boy Rick.’
While it’s still at a relatively early stage, the spin-off is something that Sheridan has been discussing with McConaughey for a while.
Here’s Sheridan on the situation:
“We had a few conversations over the years, and spitballed a few ideas. Then he started watching ‘Yellowstone’ and responded to it. He was like, ‘I want to do that.’ And by ‘that’ he meant diving into a raw world clashing up against the modern world. And then I said, ‘Buddy, that we can do.’”
A future without Kevin Costner
Kevin Costner as John Dutton III in Paramount Network’s ‘Yellowstone’ season 5. Credit: Paramount Network.
And a spin-off will come in handy, since Sheridan is in the middle of wrapping up the flagship series, partly because star Kevin Costner is a busy director in his own right.
Costner has reportedly been angling to spend less and less time working on the series, since he’s been a little busy of late. He’s leaving to focus on his own Western epic, a four-movie saga titled ‘Horizon’ that he’s co-writing, directing and starring in. The actor had been trying to get ‘Horizon’ made for 35 years and is expected to wrap the second film this week and has said the first installment might premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September.
Sheridan had this to say about the Costner situation:
“My last conversation with Kevin was that he had this passion project he wanted to direct. He and the network were arguing about when he could be done with ‘Yellowstone’. I said, ‘We can certainly work a schedule toward his preferred exit date,’ which we did. My opinion of Kevin as an actor hasn’t altered. His creation of John Dutton is symbolic and powerful, and I’ve never had an issue with Kevin that he and I couldn’t work out on the phone. But once lawyers get involved, then people don’t get to talk to each other and start saying things that aren’t true and attempt to shift blame based on how the press or public seem to be reacting. He took a lot of this on the chin, and I don’t know that anyone deserves it.”
Kevin Costner as John Dutton III in Paramount Network’s ‘Yellowstone’ season 5. Credit: Paramount Network.
Actors Woody Harrelson (L) and Matthew McConaughey speak onstage at the 66th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards held at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on August 25, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. Photo by Lester Cohen/WireImage.
If there’s one thing that Apple loves, it’s recruiting big names to star in its comedies, dramas and movies. Which, we suppose, is the driving force of all the studios and streamers, but Apple in particular has been happy to put its (considerable) money where its mouth is to hire stars.
What’s the new Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey show about?
While Apple has yet to release the title, the company has let slip that the series will be “an odd couple love story that revolves around the ‘strange and beautiful bond’ between the pair.” The series will “see their friendship tested when their combined families attempt to live together on Matthew’s ranch in Texas”.
And it’ll be a riff on the real-life friendship between the two actors, one that stretches back years before sharing the screen for ‘True Detective’.
They regularly take trips together, something that has been described as a “friendship tour”, including as last year’s visit to Dubrovnik to celebrate Harrelson’s birthday, which saw the pair paddle boarding together.
(L to R) Casey Metcalfe as Marlon, James Day Keith as Benny, Woody Harrelson as Marcus, Ashton Gunning as Cody, and Tom Sinclair as Blair in director Bobby Farrelly’s ‘Champions,’ a Focus Features release. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Focus Features.
Who created the new show?
This new series comes from David West Read, who already has one Apple show on the way –– ‘The Big Door Prize’, which stars Chris O’Dowd and Ally Maki, starts on the Apple TV+ streaming service on March 29th. Read is a veteran of ‘Schitt’s Creek’.
Harrelson is in theaters now with sports comedy drama ‘Champions’ and will be back on HBO in ‘White House Plumbers’, which tells the story of President Nixon’s own political saboteurs and Watergate masterminds.
McConaughey, last heard in ‘Sing 2’ is back on vocal duty as a version of Elvis Presley in new Netflix animated series ‘Agent Elvis’ which kicks off on Friday.
(Center) Matthew McConaughey in director Christopher Nolan’s ‘Interstellar.’
Popular cowboy drama ‘Yellowstone’ has some drama of its own!
Alright, alright, alright. It looks like Interstellar star Matthew McConaughey is being eyed for a spin-off series for the popular drama ‘Yellowstone’. Deadline reports co-creator and showrunner, Taylor Sheridan, Paramount Global, and Paramount Network are looking to end the series due to scheduling conflicts with its star, Kevin Costner.
Costner, who won a Golden Globe earlier this year for his role in the series originally limited himself to 65 days of of filming. Later, the actor only wanted to film for 50 days for the first half of current season. For the second part of season, he then only wanted to film for a week.
Given the show’s popularity, the series is likely to continue with or without its star. Garnering 8.2 million same-day views in the first half of the fifth season, Yellowstone grosses more viewers than any other primetime network shows.
The spin-off would extend the Dutton Family storyline, further expanding the Yellowstone universe. A spokesperson from Paramount says, “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,”
While no deal has been set, Sheridan is planning to write with McConaughey in mind. No word on who from the cast will appear in the new show. The spin-off would start on Paramount Network then stream exclusively on Paramount+.
Kevin Costner as John Dutton III in Paramount Network’s ‘Yellowstone’ season 5. Credit: Paramount Network.
Expanding the universe wouldn’t be a difficult task as prequel limited series such as ‘1883’ and ‘1932‘ are a hit with the audience. In fact, ‘1923’ which stars Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren has already been confirmed a second season. It will focus on Western expansion, prohibition, and the Great depression.
Sources say Paramount Network has declined Costner’s recent proposal and has decided to move on to the other show. If this is true, then it is likely that ‘Yellowstone’ will end with the second half of the current season.
‘Yellowstone’ follows the story of the Dutton Family who are the owners of the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch, the largest ranch in Montana. The family’s patriarch John Dutton (Kevin Costner) leads his family through difficult times with developers, the national park, the bordering Brocken Rock Indian Reservation and internal family conflicts.
‘Yellowstone’ was co-created by Taylor Sheridan and John Linson. Produced by 101 Studios and MTV Entertainment Studios. Executive produced by Taylor Sheridan, John Linson, Kevin Costner, Art Linson, David C. Glasser, Bob Yari, and Stephan Kay.
(L to R) Kevin Costner as John Dutton III, Kelly Reilly as Bethany “Beth” Dutton, and Wes Bentley as Jamie Dutton in Paramount Network’s ‘Yellowstone’ season 5. Credit: Paramount Network.
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