Kevin Costner has implied that Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan may have drawn inspiration from the screenplay for his new Western, Horizon: An American Saga.
Costner has starred as John Dutton in five seasons of Sheridan’s hit series, which is drawing to a close later this year.
Speaking to IndieWire at Cannes Film Festival, Costner said that during production of the second season of Yellowstone in 2019, Sheridan was looking for writers.
At that point, Costner says he and his screenwriting partner Jon Baird sent him the then-unproduced script for Horizon: An American Saga. The film is set around the same time period as Yellowstone spinoff 1883.
Indiewire’s reported noted that both 1883 and Horizon share a wagon train story.
“So I don’t know if there’s any duplications there,” Costner said. “Whether he borrowed something, only he’d have to admit to.”
Sheridan’s representatives did not immediately respond to The Independent’s request for comment.
Costner dramatically quit Yellowstone last year, but has since said he hopes to return to the hit show.
At Cannes, Costner played down reports that he’d fallen out with Sheridan. “What’s been said, it’s just so off base,” Costner said. “I was only going to do one episode or once a season. And then I helped them and I did five seasons and made a contract literally to do the last three – 5, 6, and 7. They just quit hitting the mark on their scripts.
“And then we basically had one year that was completely wiped off the map [and] they didn’t tell anybody. Fourteen months later, I could never have that happen to me again. So I kept Yellowstone in the first position, but they had to stick with their contract. And when they were done, then I would do Horizon, not vice versa. It’s as simple as that.”
Asked directly whether he’ll return to Yellowstone, Costner said: “I know they’ll probably do that without me. I’m open to coming back. But I basically have to see what the scripts are about. But now Horizon has my first position.”
Costner self-financed Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 as his own passion project. He sees it as the first film in a four-part series, but the initial instalment was torn apart by critics following its world premiere at Cannes on Sunday (19 May).
The actor admitted he’s on track to spend $98m of his own money on the first three movies. By the time he’s done with the fourth, he said he will have surpassed $100m.
Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 will debut in cinemas on 28 June, followed by Chapter 2 on 16 August.