‘Yellowstone’ Star Josh Lucas Addresses New Spinoff Starring Matthew McConaughey: ‘Bring it On’
Taylor Sheridan’s sprawling Yellowstone franchise continues to expand with new spinoff shows even as the flagship show goes through a ton of behind-the-scenes drama. The latest addition brings the star power of Matthew McConaughey into the mix. As of now, details on the project are scarce. However, the mere presence of McConaughey is enough to excite Yellowstone star Josh Lucas about what’s to come for the series in the future.
McConaughey is the latest star to join the ‘Yellowstone’ universe
After months of speculation, McConaughey’s entrance into the Yellowstone world was finally confirmed at the end of March. The role ends the actor’s three-year hiatus from the profession. Nothing about the plot or McConaughey’s character has yet been released, but considering the premises of the other Yellowstone off-shoots, the show will likely also be another trip into the past to fill out the lore of the Dutton Ranch.
McConaughey recently spoke about his new perspective on performing after taking a break to explore other opportunities on an episode of Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast. “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,” he said. “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.”
Sheridan’s throwback Western tales have done more than fine without McConaughey’s involvement. However, adding another actor with this level of pedigree shows how much cache the franchise currently has after getting Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren to star in 1923. McConaughey’s show has no release date, but the project will move forward regardless of how the Kevin Costner situation plays out on Yellowstone.
Josh Lucas is looking forward to the new ‘Yellowstone’ spinoff
Lucas spoke about Yellowstone and his interest in McConaughey’s upcoming series with Entertainment Tonight’s Will Marfuggi. The actor has a deep reverence for the creative vision Sheridan provides to each of his projects.
“I’m always so fascinated to see what Taylor [Sheridan] is doing as he tells the story,” Lucas says. “The thing that moves me or surprises me most is that every time I think something is too crazy or too fantastical, it turns out it’s based on a true story from Taylor’s life or from something that is very close to the cowboys that all of this story is about.”
When it comes to the topic of McConaughey’s series, Lucas is also in the dark like the rest of us, but he’s optimistic about the quality of the final product.
“I’m sure he has great ideas for how these characters merge together,” he says. “Part of it is the mystery of the mind of that creator…bring it on.”
‘1923’ is the most recent ‘Yellowstone’ expansion
The latest Yellowstone spinoff is 1923, which tells the story of the Dutton family as they contend with familial drama, Prohibition, and the beginning of the Great Depression.
The response to the first season was mostly positive. It has a 90% rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. However, some fans took issue with 1923’s pacing and cliched storylines. Whatever misgivings people had about the show, its success made a second season inevitable.
1923 was renewed in February. We already have some idea of where Sheridan plans to go with the next batch of episodes. Ford confirmed that his character Jacob survived the ambush from Banner Creighton (Jerome Flynn) and will return for season two. Brandon Sklenar, who plays the mysterious Spencer Dutton, hyped up the coming season by comparing 1923 to Homer’s Odyssey. He also describing Spencer’s return to the ranch as “a powerful homecoming”.
