As we know, “Yellowstone” will come to a close with the second part of its fifth season whenever that makes it to air. Paramount originally announced that it would be back on screens in November, but the writer’s strike and uncertainties surrounding Kevin Coster’s involvement have likely pushed that back.
One of the upsides is that the final run could be extended. Speaking with THR, creator Taylor Sheridan says the originally planned six-episode final run may go longer: “If I think it takes 10 episodes to wrap it up, they’ll give me 10. It’ll be as long as it needs to be.”
Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey is in late-stage negotiations for the ‘new chapter’ of the saga, with Sheridan telling the trade that the actor “seems like a natural fit” to join the franchise.
He also hints that the McConaughey-led spinoff, which is expected to have “Yellowstone” in its title, might involve a new cast and location as only the broadest strokes of the proposed series have been developed so far. Asked if any of Yellowstone’s surviving characters will jump to the new project, Sheridan replies:
“My idea of a spinoff is the same as my idea of a prequel – read into that what you will. There are lots of places where a way of life that existed for 150 years is slamming against a new way of life, but the challenges are completely different. There are a lot of places you can tell this story.”
Sheridan is also planning several more “Yellowstone” prequels, which have not yet been announced. Even as streamers tighten their belts, Sheridan expects these titles to become more expensive than the at least $10-15 million spent per episode on his shows:
“[The prequels are] time capsules of life in Montana as a microcosm of the world as a whole. They’re big spectacles, and the more that you move into the modern era, the bigger that spectacle becomes.
I know these are huge bets Paramount makes on me every time. I’m asking them to give me Game of Thrones season six money for what is essentially a pilot every year, and that’s a big ask.
As long as I do my job well, and people don’t bore of the genre, I think there will be enough for many more [prequels] – three or four. Chris McCarthy trusts me, because I haven’t been wrong yet.”
Sheridan remains busy with those final “Yellowstone” episodes, a second and final season of “1923,” the launch of the Bass Reeves spin-off, and the “Special Ops: Lioness” series with Zoe Saldana and Nicole Kidman.
