Honestly, if you’re looking for Kevin Costner news today, you’re probably either a heartbroken Yellowstone fan or someone wondering if his $100 million gamble on the American West is finally going to pay off. It’s been a wild ride. Just this week, we’ve seen new developments regarding the legal drama surrounding his Horizon saga, some surprising reflections from the man himself about how John Dutton should have actually died, and a pivot into comedy that basically nobody saw coming.
The guy is 70 years old. Most people at that age are thinking about retirement or at least slowing down. Not Kevin. He’s out here fighting lawsuits, scouting locations for a third and fourth movie, and telling anyone who will listen that he isn't done with the frontier just yet.
The Horizon Financial Storm: Lawsuits and Limbo
Let’s get into the heavy stuff first. You might have seen the headlines—Costner’s passion project, Horizon: An American Saga, is currently hitting some serious rocky ground. After Chapter 1 didn’t exactly set the box office on fire, Chapter 2 was pulled from its original theatrical slot.
Right now, the big news is a $440,000 lawsuit filed by Western Costume. They’re claiming unpaid fees for the thousands of period-accurate outfits used in the first two films. It sounds like a drop in the bucket for a movie that cost over $100 million, but when you’re self-funding and the studio is playing wait-and-see, every dollar becomes a battleground.
There’s also a much more serious legal cloud over the production involving allegations of a lack of oversight during a sensitive scene in Chapter 2. This kind of "off-screen drama" is exactly what makes investors nervous. But if you know anything about Costner, you know he’s stubborn. He’s already got a huge chunk of Chapter 3 "in the can," according to co-star Danny Huston. He’s meeting with billionaires in the shadows, trying to find the cash to finish his "private UFO," as he calls it.
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Why Kevin Costner Thinks the Duttons Should Be in Jail
The Yellowstone wounds are still fresh for a lot of us. The way Season 5B handled John Dutton's exit—essentially killing him off in the premiere—was polarizing, to say the least. Costner has finally started opening up about his thoughts on the show’s conclusion.
In a recent chat with Entertainment Tonight, he dropped a bit of a bombshell. He basically said the show became a "soap opera" toward the end. His ideal ending? He thinks the entire Dutton family—John, Beth, Kayce, the whole lot—should have ended up in prison.
"We should all be in prison," Costner remarked.
It’s a fair point. Think about "The Train Station." Think about the literal trail of bodies. While fans wanted a heroic sunset for John Dutton, the actor seems to have a more grounded, perhaps more cynical, view of the morality of the world Taylor Sheridan created. It’s clear there’s still a bit of a rift there, but Costner is moving on. He’s not looking back at the ranch anymore.
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A Surprising Shift: Honeymoon with Harry
If you think Costner is only about horses and six-shooters, you’re wrong. One of the most interesting bits of Kevin Costner news today is his confirmed attachment to a project called Honeymoon with Harry.
This isn't a Western. It’s a comedy-drama. And he’s starring alongside Jake Gyllenhaal.
The plot sounds wild: Gyllenhaal plays a former playboy whose bride dies right before the wedding. He decides to go on the honeymoon anyway to drink himself to death, only to find his father-in-law (Costner), who hates him, is already there to scatter the daughter's ashes.
It’s a huge departure from the gravelly-voiced authority figures we’ve seen him play for the last decade. It shows that he’s aware he needs a "win" that doesn't involve a cowboy hat.
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What’s Actually Streaming Right Now?
If you're missing that "Costner energy" and don't want to rewatch Yellowstone for the tenth time, his 2020 thriller Let Him Go just landed on Peacock this month. It’s a neo-Western, sure, but it’s much tighter and more brutal than the sprawling epic of the Dutton ranch. He stars with Diane Lane, and honestly, it’s some of his best work in years. It’s a slow burn that turns into a full-blown house fire by the end.
Current Project Status Table (Prose Version)
- Horizon: Chapter 1: Currently available on streaming (and doing much better there than in theaters).
- Horizon: Chapter 2: Finished, but the theatrical release is indefinitely delayed due to distribution hurdles and lawsuits.
- Horizon: Chapter 3: Partially filmed; production is currently paused while searching for additional funding.
- Honeymoon with Harry: In active development with Amazon MGM Studios.
- The West (Docuseries): Available on the History Channel, exploring the real history behind his fictional movies.
Dealing with the "Retirement" Rumors
People love to speculate that Costner is done. They see the box office numbers for Horizon and think he’ll just pack it in and go to his ranch in Aspen. But he told People magazine recently that retirement isn't even a word in his vocabulary.
He’s a storyteller. He’s obsessed with the "rawness and unpredictability" of history. Whether he has to sell more of his own property to fund his movies or pivot to streaming-only releases, he seems determined to go down with the ship.
Actionable Insights for Fans
If you're trying to keep up with everything Kevin is doing, here’s how to navigate the current noise:
- Watch the streaming charts: Horizon’s future depends entirely on how many people watch Chapter 1 on VOD and streaming. If those numbers stay high, a distributor will eventually cave and release Chapter 2.
- Ignore the "Return to Yellowstone" clickbait: Despite the rumors, there are no active talks for a John Dutton flashback or cameo in the spin-offs. That door is effectively shut.
- Look for "Honeymoon with Harry" updates: This will be the true test of his post-Yellowstone star power. If he can pivot to comedy, he could have a late-career renaissance similar to what Robert De Niro did years ago.
- Check out the docuseries: If you want to understand why he's so obsessed with the West, Kevin Costner’s The West on History Channel explains the real-life inspirations for the characters he writes.
The bottom line is that Kevin Costner is in a "transition era." He’s shed the skin of a TV icon and is trying to reclaim his title as a cinematic titan. It’s messy, it’s expensive, and it’s full of lawyers, but it’s never boring.
Next Step for You: If you haven't seen it yet, go watch Let Him Go on Peacock. It provides the best context for the "weathered authority" role he’s perfected before he jumps into his upcoming comedy projects.