Kevin Costner walked off the Yellowstone stage three years ago, leaving behind a trail of dust and a patriarch-shaped crater. Since then, the Sheridan-verse has been circling around that absence like moths around an oil lamp—glowing, but never quite burning as hot. Now comes the news: Kurt Russell has saddled up for The Madison, and suddenly, the conversation shifts.
This isn't just stunt casting. It feels like the kind of mythic replacement Hollywood rarely nails. Russell, 74, has been orbiting the Western genre since Tombstone, a film so beloved it practically has its own whiskey brand in spirit. Add Bone Tomahawk and Tarantino's snow-globe bloodbath The Hateful Eight, and you've got an actor who knows the weight of dust, grit, and silence.
Filling Dutton's Shadow
Let's be honest: Kevin Costner didn't just play John Dutton—he was Yellowstone's gravitational center. Every monologue carried that specific Costner cadence, half-soothing, half-menacing. The character's absence has haunted every spinoff, no matter how stacked the cast list looked. Even with Harrison Ford in 1923 and Billy Bob Thornton in 1883, there's been no true successor to the Yellowstone throne.
Kurt Russell changes that equation. His career arc has run almost parallel to Costner's—both movie stars in the purest sense, both dabbling in action and prestige. Hell, they even shared a role: Wyatt Earp. Russell made him immortal in Tombstone (1993), Costner tried to expand him in Wyatt Earp (1994). One film became a classic; the other… not so much.
The Madison: Timeline and Casting
The Madison has been quietly brewing under Taylor Sheridan's sprawling Paramount deal. Season 1 wrapped filming in January 2025 and is currently in post-production, slated to premiere in early 2026. Its cast is already heavy-hitting—Michelle Pfeiffer (Scarface), Matthew Fox (Lost), Patrick J. Adams (Suits). And now, with Russell confirmed as a series regular, the show has something more: a legacy tie-in that feels earned.
Reports didn't specify whether Russell appears in Season 1. Given the wrap in January, it's more likely he'll debut in Season 2, which begins filming this fall. Translation: don't expect to see him until late 2026 or early 2027. Still, the announcement alone gives the project a credibility boost.
Russell Still Has the Fire
If you're doubting whether Russell still has the juice, check his recent turn in Apple TV+'s Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. He and his son Wyatt Russell pulled off a generational baton pass inside a kaiju series—meta casting at its best. Watching Russell there, sharp and sly, it's clear he isn't winding down. He's recalibrating.
And maybe that's what makes this casting so right. Costner defined Yellowstone as a patriarch fighting time, land, and legacy. Russell, older but no less vital, brings that same mythology, but with an edge—less polished, more dangerous. A little more whiskey, a little less wine.
What We Know About Kurt Russell in The Madison
Big Shoes to Fill
Russell's casting directly addresses the Kevin Costner-sized hole at the center of the Sheridan-verse.
Confirmed Timeline
Season 1 of The Madison wrapped in January 2025 and premieres in early 2026. Season 2 begins filming Fall 2025.
A Perfect Genre Fit
Russell's resume (Tombstone, Bone Tomahawk, The Hateful Eight) cements him as a Western heavyweight.
Cultural Echo with Costner
Both actors famously played Wyatt Earp, offering a strange mirroring that deepens the casting choice.
Sheridan's Expanding World
With Pfeiffer, Fox, Adams, and now Russell, The Madison is positioning itself as the prestige Yellowstone spinoff to watch.
Yellowstone fans will argue endlessly over who owns the cowboy crown—Costner or Russell—but maybe that's the point. Sheridan's world thrives on friction, on blurred lines between loyalty and betrayal. And Russell? He's been living in that space his whole career.
What do you think—does Kurt Russell have the gravitas to replace Kevin Costner in the Yellowstone universe, or will The Madison prove that some boots are just too big to fill?
