The only sequel Kevin Costner seriously considered making: “I always feel like I’m done”
Think of any actor who’s enjoyed at least a fleeting spell as one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, and virtually every single one of them has reprised at least one role. Kevin Costner was among the biggest in the 1980s and 1990s, but he was one of the few holdouts who never felt the need to scratch the sequel itch.
Of course, that could be about to change, depending on who gets asked. Costner’s ambitious multi-film epic Horizon: An American Saga was designed to span four movies, which would make Hayes Ellison the first and only character the actor and filmmaker has played more than once.
However, Costner views the planned quartet as a single continuous story rather than an opening chapter followed by three sequels, so he wouldn’t count it as such. There’s also the fact that Part 2 has been trapped in cinematic purgatory, having premiered at Venice in September 2024 without being given a release date, never mind the fact that the third and fourth instalments are nowhere near finished.
As it stands, Yellowstone patriarch John Dutton is technically the only role the two-time Academy Award winner has reprised, but that technically doesn’t count when four seasons of television are a completely different beast from a feature-length franchise. Costner has had his opportunities; he just didn’t want to take them.
“I always feel like I’m done with those movies,” he told Slash Film of his aversion to sequels. “They stood a chance to get remade. I miss the era of remaking all those. I think that frustrated people, I wouldn’t go ahead and do that. I did, however, on The Bodyguard. I was going to make that for a moment.”
Of all the films Costner has headlined that he’s been approached for sequels about, a list that he confirmed extended to Tin Cup, Bull Durham, Dances with Wolves, and probably Waterworld too if it wasn’t so damned expensive, the only one he seriously contemplated was another tilt at former Secret Service agent Frank Farmer.
It makes sense when The Bodyguard was a box office phenomenon and cultural juggernaut, but what’s entirely unexpected was his preferred choice of co-star to replace Whitney Houston. “Princess Diana was being really considered for that part,” he shared. “I was just always interested in what I could do next. I would have made any of those had the script been really good. So I’m not above the idea.”
Based solely on how bizarre it would have been, it’s a shame audiences didn’t get the chance to see The Bodyguard 2 starring Costner and Princess Diana. It sounds batshit crazy in an especially Hollywood way, but the actor and filmmaker continues to remain steadfast in avoiding sequels like the plague.
