Matthew McConaughey Opens Up on Next Role Amid New Yellowstone Spinoff Reports

For the better part of the past four years, Matthew McConaughey has put acting on the back burner as he pursued other interests. Now, he’s heading back to Hollywood—or, at the very least, a ranch somewhere in the Yellowstone Universe. Amid McConaughey’s acting return come rumors in the form of a Yellowstone spinoff, which the actor addressed on a recent podcast. According to McConaughey, he’s reading to get back in the saddle, especially if it means leading a show in one of television’s hottest franchises.

“I am now becoming more interested in actually going to play another character in a TV show because the last four years of culminating and writing and getting these things together and getting more into public service,” McConaughey told Dax Shepherd on the latter’s Armchair Expert podcast. “The idea of going to act in the right kind of role, in the right kind of movie, film or series right now sounds like an awesome vacation.”

Reports of a McConaughey-led spinoff come as the main Yellowstone series has found itself in danger of losing leading man Kevin Costner because of scheduling disputes. Regardless, it’s expected the spin-off will continue no matter how Costner’s new contract negotiations play out.

“We have no news to report,” a statement from a Paramount Network spokesperson read regarding the matter. “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.”

What is Yellowstone about?

The series follows the Dutton family, owners of the largest ranch in Montana, the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch, commonly called “the Yellowstone”. The plot revolves around family drama at the ranch and the bordering Broken Rock Indian Reservation, Yellowstone National Park, and developers.

In addition to Costner, the series stars Luke Grimes, Kelly Reilly, Wes Bentley, Cole Hauser, Kelsey Asbille, Brecken Merrill, Jefferson White, Danny Huston, Gil Birmingham, Forrie J. Smith, Denim Richards, Ian Bohen, Finn Little, Ryan Bingham, Wendy Moniz, Jennifer Landon, Kathryn Kelly, and Moses Brings Plenty. Across its tenure, the series has spun out multiple spinoffs — 1883, 1923, and the forthcoming Bass Reeves and 6666 series. Sheridan has also continued to partner with Paramount on the hit series Mayor of Kingstown, Tulsa King, and the forthcoming Lioness.