Matthew McConaughey's Yellowstone Casting May Not Happen For One Key Reason (Report)

As behind-the-scenes negotiations with Kevin Costner, Taylor Sheridan, and Paramount have fallen apart over the last year, "Yellowstone" fans have been eagerly anticipating Season 5, Part 2, which is expected to mark the final run of the popular series. However, with several spin-offs in the works, viewers will still have plenty of these kinds of shows to look forward to, even when the flagship series wraps up.

The highest-profile of these fresh takes is almost certainly the show that is set to be the central follow-up to "Yellowstone." Currently under the working title of "2024," the series, which will supposedly be headlined by Matthew McConaughey, has been drawing plenty of attention. However, the project is beginning to get the wrong kind of hype, as the actor seems to be considering moving on from it.

This is according to a report by Life & Style. "Matthew can't book movie work that is going to potentially overlap with the show," an insider claims. "But he still doesn't have clarity on when exactly this job would even start. He wants to make the deal — it's become this incredibly drawn-out process."

"No deal has ever taken this long for Matthew," the Life & Style insider went on. "Especially after he won his Oscar, getting folks to meet his asking price has been a breeze." However, the report also suggests that "Yellowstone" co-creator Taylor Sheridan may be partially responsible for the possibility of Matthew McConaughey potentially walking away. "Taylor's got a reputation for being a jerk with a 'God complex,'" the insider alleged. "Matthew doesn't particularly like behind-the-scenes drama."

While McConaughey's current asking price of $2.5 million per episode for the "Yellowstone" spin-off is probably slowing things down, this is almost certainly compounded by how Kevin Costner is making roughly half that in his fifth season of the series, earning a reported $1.3 million per episode.

With these reports in mind, Paramount is likely weighing whether paying McConaughey nearly twice what Costner has been making is worth it, especially with the success of the spin-off not guaranteed. Still, being that the "Interstellar" star remains a major commodity following his work on "Dallas Buyers Club" and "True Detective," the investment could potentially be worth their while.

In any case, hopefully, "Yellowstone" fans will soon have a more concrete idea of whether "2024" is going forward with McConaughey or if someone else will be stepping into the cowboy boots of the spin-off's main character.