Every report since February 2023 has stated that McConaughey is in negotiations to star in the Yellowstone spinoff series. So far, there has been no confirmation that McConaughey has closed his deal. In February 2024, Puck reported McConaughey would not sign on until he saw a script for the spinoff.
If McConaughey does agree to a contract, it would be his first leading role on TV since HBO’s first season of True Detective in 2014. McConaughey’s star power is also arguably greater than Costner’s at this point in their respective careers.
Does the spinoff series have a title?
Yes. Although the Yellowstone spinoff was previously called 2024 at an earlier stage of development, the official name for the show is now The Madison. With that bit intel also comes the first description for the series, which reportedly “follows a New York City family in the Madison River valley of central Montana.” It’s also called “a heartfelt study of grief and human connection.”
Who will Matthew McConaughey play in the Yellowstone spinoff?
That’s a big question and one we can’t really answer at this point. We can only speculate that McConaughey could be playing a member of the Dutton who simply wasn’t mentioned before. But building a series around a character who came out of nowhere would seem odd.
The other possibilities are that McConaughey’s character could marry into the Dutton family, or he could simply be someone who isn’t related to them by blood or marriage. It’s simply too soon to say which way the new series will go.
Is Michelle Pfeiffer going to star in the Yellowstone spinoff?
Yes. Via Variety, Michelle Pfeiffer will star in The Madison and executive produce the show alongside series creator Taylor Sheridan.
In a statement, Paramount Global co-CEO Chris McCarthy acknowledged the news and said, “Michelle Pfeiffer is a remarkable talent who imbues every role with emotional depth, authenticity and grace. She is the perfect anchor to the newest chapter of the Yellowstone universe, The Madison, from the brilliant mind of Taylor Sheridan.”
There was no mention of McConaughey’s name, and the last few updates about the series have conspicuously left him out. Pfeiffer’s involvement with the project was first reported in February 2024 by Puck, which noted that the actress was in talks to join the Yellowstone spinoff alongside McConaughey.
Who else is slated to star in The Madison?
After months of apparent inactivity, the cast of the Yellowstone spinoff The Madison is coming together. Via The Hollywood Reporter, Suits star Patrick J. Adams has signed on to a starring role opposite Pfeiffer. Adams will play Russell McIntosh, a man who is described as someone “who has followed the life path set before him from the start.”
Film actress Elle Chapman, whose previous credits include A Man Called Otto and Florida Wild, is making her TV debut in this series as Paige McIntosh, a “somewhat self-centered woman who indulges in a luxurious New York lifestyle provided by her parents and investment banker husband.” That means she’s either Russell’s sister, or the wife of Russell or another one of his brothers.
Firefly Lane‘s Beau Garrett has also been cast as Abigail Reese. Abigail doesn’t appear to be a member of the McIntosh family, but she is a recently divorced single mother who is described as a “resilient and sardonic New Yorker.”
A previous report from Deadline noted that veteran actor Kurt Russell is also in talks to join the series. However, McConaughey went unmentioned again, which raises the question of whether he will actually appear in the spinoff at all.
Which Yellowstone cast members will return for the spinoff?
Prior to last year’s actors’ strike, Deadline reported that “it has not been revealed whether the McConaughey-fronted franchise extension will be set on the Dutton ranch in Montana or elsewhere and which of the original stars of Yellowstone will appear in the spinoff series, but we hear a couple of them have received offers. The plan for the returning cast members may not get finalized until Sheridan finishes writing, we hear.”
The Yellowstone spinoff was not originally designed to include characters from the original series. However, a February 2024 report by Puck stated that Yellowstone stars Kelly Reilly, Cole Hauser, and Luke Grimes as three Yellowstone could join the spinoff. Reilly and Grimes play Beth and Kayce Dutton, while Hauser stars as Beth’s husband, Rip Wheeler. The trio is looking for significant pay increases to return for the spinoff. Reilly and Hauser are asking for a per-episode rate of $1.2 million and 1.25 million, respectively. Grimes’ salary demands were not included. Puck’s follow-up in March 2024 stated negotiations were still ongoing.
Given the way that Yellowstone season 5A ended, it’s hard to picture Reilly and Wes Bentley returning for the spinoff series since their respective characters, Beth and Jamie Dutton, have openly contemplated murdering each other over their ongoing dispute. Beth is John Dutton’s daughter and Jamie is his adopted son, but they have very different endgames in mind. Jamie has already gone against the family by calling for his father to be impeached from his position as the governor of Montana. That alone could get Jamie sent to the “train station,” where the Dutton family tends to dump the bodies of their enemies.
Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser are open to joining the Yellowstone spinoff
First and foremost, the Yellowstone cast members must finish the final episodes of season 5 before they can work on the spinoff. However, several of the principal actors in Yellowstone are open to joining the spinoff. Reilly revealed that discussions have occurred about her involvement in the spinoff.
“I just care about finishing [the main show] with as much care, as much passion, and as much love as I can muster to put into it,” Reilly told Collider in March 2024. “That’s what I care about. I’m sort of prepping for that now, [and] that’s my tunnel vision thing that I care about most. And what goes on beyond that? There are discussions, you know. Don’t believe everything you read. It’s just nonsense. But we’re gonna, you know, let’s wait and see. I don’t have an answer right now. But we’ll see.”
Hauser also shared a similar sentiment about the spinoff. His focus is on finishing Yellowstone season 5. However, Hauser mentioned how there are ways Rip, Beth, and other key characters could appear in the spinoff.
“I’m so focused on finishing Yellowstone the way it needs to be finished right now — well, just the show itself,” Hauser told Country Living in April 2024. “We’ll see where that leads, but I know that there’s some stuff on the horizon when it comes to Taylor’s ideas for Kelly Reilly, myself, and some of the other cast. I’m excited to see where he goes creatively with that, but right now it’s just, let’s finish strong; let’s do the best we can.”
When will Yellowstone season 5, part 2 begin production?
Paramount Network has officially announced that Yellowstone season 5, part 2 has begun filming in Montana as of May 20, 2024. That should be more than enough time for the series to film the final six episodes and turn them around for a final run on Paramount Network later this year.
As noted via Deadline, Costner has not returned to the show, and there don’t appear to be any plans for him to do so. Costner is currently promoting Horizon: An American Saga in France at the Cannes Film Festival, and he intends to resume filming the third Horizon movie when he returns to America. It’s not impossible for Costner and Sheridan to make an agreement for him to appear in the final episodes. But with the show back in production, the window for that to happen is rapidly closing.
When will the last episodes of Yellowstone season 5 premiere?
After months of waiting, Yellowstone fans now know when they can finally see new episodes. Yellowstone season 5, part 2 will premiere on Sunday, November 10 on Paramount Network. The new episodes will also be released on Peacock in America, but we don’t know yet if the streaming service will have them the same day as Paramount Network or if fans will have to wait longer before watching the episodes online. Fans in Canada won’t have the same problem, as Paramount+ will premiere the episodes on the same day they are broadcast.
Does Kevin Costner’s new movie, Horizon: An American Saga, have any Yellowstone connections?
Earlier this week, Kevin Costner debuted the trailer for his upcoming movie, Horizon: An American Saga. The movie, a passion project of the actor he personally financed, is set to debut in two parts later this year. Yellowstone fans couldn’t help but notice some similarities between the movie and the show: the Western setting; Costner’s role as a tough patriarch defending his land; and the giant cast of well-known character actors like Will Patton, Giovanni Ribisi, Michael Rooker, Sam Worthington, Jena Malone, Luke Wilson, and many, many more.
Yet, while the movie shares many of the same themes with Yellowstone, it is not connected in any way with the hit show. The movie is set during the American Civil War, and does not chronicle the early years of Dutton clan like the spinoff shows 1883 and 1923 have recently. That hasn’t stopped fans of Yellowstone from gravitating toward the movie. Good Housekeeping reported that fans of the hit Paramount Network show can’t wait to see the movies, which makes sense given that Costner has long been the figurehead and main attraction of the long-running show.
