Yellowstone star Josh Lucas admits show will ‘push forward with or without Kevin Costner’

Yellowstone star Josh Lucas has revealed that the hit show will “push forward” with or without leading man Kevin Costner.

Lucas said that the key figures in the US series have not taken a moment to celebrate the success of the show with star Kevin Costner as with creator Taylor Sheridan his focus is on the future.

Costner, who plays show lead John Dutton, is at the centre of speculation that he will not be returning for season six of Yellowstone. Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey is reportedly on board to join a spin-off of the Sherican’s Yellowstone franchise.

While Lucas neither confirmed nor denied Costner’s exit, filming has yet to start on the final few episodes of the fifth series.

Fans’ concerns about the Oscar-winning star of The Bodyguard’s future when he did not attend a major Los Angeles TV event, where Paramount Plus had unveiled his appearance.

Audience members were shocked on April 1 when announced talent Costner, Kelly Reilly, Cole Hauser, Luke Grimes, Kelsey Asbille, Wes Bentley, Gil Birmingham and Jacki Weaver failed to appear at the Paley Fest at the Dolby Theater.

Then Lucas, who plays young John, confirmed that the series will “push forward” no matter what happens with casting. The trio never stop to look at the success of creating one of the biggest shows on TV globally.

Lucas told Express.co.uk: “I do not feel that from anyone of us. This show that is a cowboy show. You are not sitting back and celebrating. You are always trying to push forward and make it better and more authentic.

“There is a weight to the pressure and drama, in a way to try and create something excellent that has greater truth, drama and greater love.”

Lucas was inspired by working with Costner, who plays the aged Dutton.

“My biggest takeaway is that he has found such power doing what he is doing. Kevin has become John Dutton and John is as filled with Taylor as he is with Taylor. For me it is finding those connective tissues and that the audience sees that.

“It would be very easy to dismiss anyone playing John except from Kevin so I am trying to find a way to make it. I have that huge responsibility of a huge movie star and brilliant writer who are putting a lot of crazy love and pressure on each other and the show to make something that people love.”

Lucas spoke of his love and his excitement about being one of the biggest shows across the world. But he was thrown straight into the drama by Sheridan when arriving on set.

Lucas spoke about his shock of being on set for his first set when creator Sheridan rode up to him and urged him to brand cattle.

He added: “The day I arrived on set for the very first time Taylor came riding up over a cliff with a horse driving 40 head of cattle by himself. And it was like I didn’t know that was Taylor. I was like, ‘Who is this guy?’

“And he comes rearing up on a horse next to me and says, ‘Josh, I am Taylor. Can you ride?’ I said yes and he said, ‘Get off the horse and brand those cattle.’ Then he told the field production unit to ‘roll cameras’.

“I was like, ‘Wait a minute I have never branded cattle before’, but you get thrown into a fire and the authenticity begins. And I was like, ‘Wait a second – show me how to do this! You have got to make it look right.”

Saturday night’s fan shock at not seeing major players sparked more social media chat that Costner was unlikely to return for season six. Aside from Lucas just three other show stars – Wendy Moniz, Mo Brings Plenty and Dawn Olivieri – spoke to press on the carpet.

Lucas described how Yellowstone “at the core was a love story between John Dutton and even Jamie. There is so much love for the land and history. There are soap opera elements to it, but at the same time it is crazy authentic.”

During the red carpet, the cast in attendance confirmed that the second half of season five, which is supposed to air in the summer on Paramount Network, has not yet started filming and they have not been given a start date.

At the beginning of the panel, a Paramount boss told the crowd that he’s “very confident” Costner is still committed to the series and is hopeful that production will begin soon.

In February, sources told Variety that the actor, who has portrayed John Dutton since the western debuted in 2018, may be leaving the show as his availability has changed over the last five years.

Additionally, discussions began to expand the franchise (further than prequels 1883 and 1923) with a new show starring Matthew McConaughey.

“Kevin Costner is a big part of Yellowstone and we hope that’s the case for a long time to come,” a network spokesperson said in a statement 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.”

PaleyFest, now in its 40th year, is the nation’s original and longest-running festival celebrating creative excellence in television. Produced by The Paley Center for Media, this year’s festival takes place March 31 – April 4 at the DOLBY Theatre in Hollywood.

This year’s celebration features today’s hottest tv shows with a special screening picked for the audience followed by a panel and audience Q&A with the stars and creators of the series. PaleyFest is open to the public and tickets are currently on sale at PaleyFest.org.

The Festival benefits the Paley Center’s preservation and archival digitization efforts, and its ongoing mission to explore the significant impact of media on our culture and society.

The Paley Center is home to the nation’s foremost publicly accessible archives of television and radio content, over 160,000 programs spanning the history of media, including collections that feature achievements in television by African-Americans, Hispanics, the LGBTQ community, and most recently the expanded collection of achievements by women in television.