Kevin Costner Dropped This $426M Tarantino Western For an Unexpected Role

Summary:

• Kevin Costner is an American actor best known today for his role as Josh Dutton III in Taylor Sheridan 's western series Yellowstone.
• The actor has an extensive filmography and a penchant for the western genre.
• He dropped out of the production of Quentin Tarantino 's Django Unchained to reportedly star in a History Channel western series.

At this point, Kevin Costner could easily be called the ambassador of the Western genre on modern television. Although many mainstream viewers were introduced to the world of the Wild West by the Duttons of Yellowstone, the actor's interest in and advocacy for the genre began long before he joined the cast of the Paramount Plus production.

For those who are worried that they won't be able to see Costner in a western again now that he's officially out of Yellowstone, don't worry. The actor is working on his own movie franchise, Horizon, which will consist of 4 movies in the genre.

Besides, Yellowstone is not the first big project the actor had to drop in order to pursue another opportunity his heart desired. Back in 2011, Kevin Costner was announced as part of Quentin Tarantino's hit Django Unchained.

However, just a few months later, he dropped out for a much smaller, but far more historically accurate production of Hatfields & McCoys.

Why Wasn’t Kevin Costner in Django Unchained?

With a budget of $100 million, Quentin Tarantino's western Django Unchained hit the box office jackpot, grossing $426 million worldwide. But that wasn't the best part, as the movie was so well received by critics that it earned Tarantino an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, among several other nominations.

Kevin Costner was first cast as a vile slave trainer, taking a break from his good guy roles. With A-list stars like Leonardo DiCaprio and Kerry Washington in the cast, the film was destined for success from the start of production.

However, Costner had a change of heart and chose another project due to a scheduling conflict.

Although there was no official confirmation that History Channel's Hatfields & McCoys was the conflicting project, the production and release dates point to that conclusion. This was the first major television role for Costner, who starred in three two-hour episodes of the miniseries.

As the title suggests, the show focused on the land conflict between the real-life families of the West Virginia-Kentucky area along the Tug Fork of the Big Sandy River. Kevin Costner starred as William Anderson Hatfield opposite Bill Paxton's Randolph McCoy.

Even though Costner missed out on a chance to get credit for Tarantino's Django Unchained, the miniseries did earn him a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor. So the change of plans didn't leave the actor behind.

If you want to stream Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained, you can do so on Prime Video, Starz, and fuboTV. Hatfields & McCoys is available on Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video.