Taylor Sheridan has become one of the most sought-after writers in the industry after he created shows such as Yellowstone and Tulsa King. The former actor who shot to fame as a writer for Sicario has been feuding with his star Kevin Costner for the past few months as the actor worked on his magnum opus Horizon: An American Saga.
While Yellowstone gears up for its final season Costner’s Horizon seems to have hit it big at the Cannes Film Festival after its premiere received a standing ovation. During a post-screening interview, Costner indicated that Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone spinoff 1883 may have borrowed elements from his own film as he had shared the script with Sheridan.
Kevin Costner Hints At Taylor Sheridan Ripping Off Horizon For 1883
Kevin Costner recently debuted the first part of his epic Wester Horizon: An American Saga at the Cannes Film Festival. The actor had financed the $100 million project by himself after selling a waterfront property and was working on the film for over twenty years. The film reportedly focuses on the expansion of the American West before and after the Civil War.
The Western is a genre that Kevin Costner is extremely comfortable in. The actor-filmmaker won his first Oscar for directing the Western Dances with Wolves, which won the Best Picture and Best Director Oscars. He also bounced back from his relative failures with the film Open Range, and he has been starring in Taylor Sheridan’s neo-Western Yellowstone.
Costner recently hinted that Sheridan may have borrowed some elements from Horizon after revealing that he had shared the script he and Jon Baird had worked on long back while filming the series. He particularly spoke about the spinoff miniseries 1883 which reportedly shares a ‘wagon train story’ similar to that of Costner’s dream project. He told IndieWire,
So I don’t know if there’s any duplications there. Whether he borrowed something, only he’d have to admit to.
Taylor Sheridan’s popular series has been accused of borrowing many elements of established Western films and shows from the past. While the central plot of the series seemed to be inspired by the popular show Dallas, other series and films such as Lonesome Dove and Costner’s own Dances with Wolves have been cited as influences.
Kevin Costner May Return To Yellowstone Despite All The Squabble
Kevin Costner and Taylor Sheridan have had a feud ever since the actor-filmmaker left Yellowstone to work on Horizon. While the network reportedly accused Costner of prioritizing the film over the show, Costner maintains that he put the show first despite already mounting his dream project.
The actor said to IndieWire about the issues he faced while trying to balance the shooting schedule of both the show and the film,
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.
While the second part of Yellowstone season 5 began filming without the actor, Costner mentioned that he would want to return to the show if the script was good. Despite all the feuding, the actor still seemed to have a liking for the show and mentioned that he would like to do it if the network was up for it. He said to Entertainment Tonight,
I’d like to be able to do it but we haven’t been able to…I thought I was going to make seven [seasons] but right now we’re at five. So how it works out — I hope it does — but they’ve got a lot of different shows going on. Maybe it will. Maybe this will circle back to me. If it does and I feel really comfortable with [it], I’d love to do it.
Meanwhile, the actor-director has reportedly already started work on the third installment of Horizon, despite the first chapter gearing up for release in June.
