AFTER MONTHS OF speculation, Matthew McConaughey has finally been confirmed for his own Yellowstone spinoff series. According to Paramount Media Networks head Chris McCarthy, the McConaughey-led extension will move forward regardless of whether Yellowstone star Kevin Costner returns to the main seriesMcCarthy shared the news in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, where he also dropped that he’s currently working on close to a dozen (!) projects with creator Taylor Sheridan.

The drama all started when Yellowstone Season Five took a hiatus before the new year, setting up conflict for a potential Dutton family showdown. Little did we know, a Dutton family standoff was happening in the real world. Costner and Sheridan were allegedly feuding behind the scenes about demanding shooting schedules, and rumours began circulating that it was possible Costner would not return. Yellowstone Season Five still remains unfinished, and there’s been no word about filming anytime soon.

“Kevin Costner is a big part of Yellowstone and we hope that’s the case for a long time to come,” Paramount originally announced in a statement back in February. “Thanks to the brilliant mind of Taylor Sheridan, we are always working on franchise expansions of this incredible world he has built.”

McConaughey will star in the Yellowstone spinoff no matter how long the flagship series sits on the back-burner, which is a win-win for Paramount. Sheridan is also already cooking up some ideas for the series, praising McConaughey in a new Hollywood Reporter interview as “a natural fit” for his modern western TV universe. “We had a few conversations over the years, and spitballed a few ideas,” Sheridan revealed. “Then he started watching Yellowstone and responded to it. He was like, I want to do that. And by that he meant diving into a raw world clashing up against the modern world. And then I said, Buddy, that we can do.”

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Kevin Costner in Yellowstone

Though the series will keep the Yellowstone name in the title, Sheridan also stated that he may still do away with the rest of the cast following Season Five. My idea of a spinoff is the same as my idea of a prequel—read into that what you will,” Sheridan said. Usually, that means it’s a stand-alone story and everyone dies. “There are lots of places where a way of life that existed for 150 years is slamming against a new way of life, but the challenges are completely different,” he explained. “There are a lot of places you can tell this story.” Still, the Yellowstone creator has only worked out the “broadest strokes” of what journey to take McConaughey on.

Meanwhile, Paramount+ is having a grand ol’ time with its other Yellowstone spinoff shows, including 1883 and 1923. Airing only on the Paramount+ streaming service, these shows bring in subscribers while Yellowstone‘s streaming rights are still owned by Peacock (or Stan, in Australia)That’s why you can’t watch Yellowstone on Paramount+. So, if you’re a Paramount exec., it must bring a smile to your face knowing that dismal fan reactions from Season Five sent viewers wanting to just move on to the spinoffs. Still, Paramount wants Kevin Costner to at least come back and finish it out in some way.

At an event in Los Angeles earlier this year, Keith Cox, president of development and production at Paramount Network, stated that the network is “very confident [Costner]’s going to continue with our show.” That’s good news for Duttonheads, but I’ll believe it when I see it. Costner skipped a planned appearance at that same event, as did Sheridan and most of the leading cast. While the Dutton family sorts that mess out, at least we have dreams of McConaughey on the Yellowstone ranch to keep our minds busy.

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A version of this article originally appeared on Esquire US