It is still a question as to whether actor Kevin Costner will return to the smash hit series “Yellowstone” to see the end of his character arc through when the show wraps up its final season.
But the actor, 69, has no doubts he is still vibrant enough to play the role of leading man.
Costner and Australian action star Chris Hemsworth both discussed the topic during separate interviews with Entertainment Tonight.
Hemsworth explained at CinemaCon 2024 -- an annual event for movie theater owners from around the world -- that he recently lost a job to the "Field of Dreams" star.
Per Hemsworth, 40, he recently tried to land a role that he felt he was the perfect fit for. The name of the upcoming film was not divulged by the star, but he said it ended up going to Costner.
"There was a movie, a script that I'd read and loved and was like, 'I want to get that,' and then someone said, 'Kevin Costner has that [role],'" Hemsworth told ET.
The “Thor” star said he even went as far as to try to convince Costner to let him have the role.
"I'd love [to have] him as a director,” he explained. “I was like, ‘g******it*!’ [I spent] an hour the other day trying to convince him, and he was like, 'I'm doing it, kid.’”
Hemsworth confirmed Costner will now star in the film, which he said is "a small story about a man and a woman."
The Aussie categorized the unnamed project as "abstract and interesting.”
Costner, whose upcoming Western film series “Horizon: An American Saga” will hit theaters later this year, replied to the actor’s comments in a separate interview with ET, Fox News reported.
"Chris -- he's starting something on me," the “Dances with Wolves" actor said.
"It's a love story," Costner said of the film that he and not Hemsworth will soon appear in. "But as long as I'm still young enough to play it, I'll play it."
The actor went on to praise Hemsworth for being at bat as the next generation of film royalty.
"Chris is gonna have to wait his turn,” Costner said. “He's so handsome, and he's so good. He's gonna have to go find his [own] love story. I’m glad he likes this one.”
Costner concluded when the time was right he would defer starring roles to younger actors.
“If I reach a moment where I [don't] think I could do that, I would [reach out],” Costner explained.
He added of Hemsworth, “He’s certainly one of our great leading men right now."
Meanwhile, Hemsworth made sure to note there was no bad blood about seeing Costner nab yet another great role amid his career revival in recent years.
"It's better seen in his wheelhouse for sure, as far as the kind of Western environment,” Hemsworth said, ET reported.
The first film of four in the "Horizon" series will debut in the U.S. in June while the final episodes of "Yellowstone" are supposed to premiere at the end of the year.
It is unclear if Costner will reprise his role as John Dutton, but he clarified last week he had not ruled it out.
