'Yellowstone' star Josh Lucas is confident Taylor Sheridan will be able to 'merge together' the flagship show and a Matthew McConaughey spinoff as Paramount confirms new show is coming

• "Yellowstone" star Josh Lucas shared his thoughts about the new Matthew McConaughey-led spinoff.
• It comes after Paramount confirmed that the rumored franchise extension is going ahead.

"Yellowstone" star Josh Lucas is more than ready to welcome Matthew McConaughey into the fold.

Speaking to Entertainment Tonight on the red carpet ahead of the PaleyFest LA panel for the Paramount Network drama on Saturday, the "Sweet Home Alabama" actor shared his thoughts on the now-confirmed but as-yet-untitled spinoff starring the "True Detective" star.

Lucas, who has been portraying a younger version of Kevin Costner's character John Dutton in flashback scenes since season one, said he is just as in the dark as everyone else about the details, but said that he's sure the franchise's cocreator and writer, Taylor Sheridan, "has great ideas for how these characters merge together."

"Part of it is the mystery of the mind of that creator and waiting for that to be unleashed in a way, right?"

He added: "So hell, yeah, bring it on!"

Lucas also expressed his admiration for Sheridan's storytelling.

The Academy Award-nominated filmmaker and screenwriter has penned almost all the scripts for the flagship series by himself and wrote every single episode of Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren-led drama "1923," as well as the earlier Dutton family origin series, "1883," entirely alone.

"I'm always so fascinated to see what Taylor is doing as he tells the story," Lucas said.

"The thing that moves me or surprises me most is that every time I think something is too crazy or too fantastical, it turns out it's based on a true story from Taylor's life or from something that is very close to the cowboys that all of this story is about."

It's possible that the franchise extension could be the long-teased "6666," which was first announced in early 2021 and is said to revolve around life on a real Texas-based ranch that Sheridan owns.

Lucas' comments come after Paramount Media Networks president Chris McCarthy confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that the rumored McConaughey-led spinoff of the popular series is moving forward, regardless of whether Costner returns to the original.

It had been previously reported by Deadline that the flagship series, which is the most-watched across cable and broadcast, could be ending sooner than expected due to disagreements with the "Field of Dreams" star over shooting schedules.

However, Paramount Network's president of development and production, Keith Cox, confirmed at Saturday night's event that Costner isn't going anywhere any time soon.

"What I can say is our star, the face of our show, and executive producer, are very confident he is going to continue with our show," he told fans to enthusiastic applause as the panel, attended by Insider, kicked off.

A spokesperson for Paramount Network previously told Insider in February that they hoped to have both Costner and McConaughey be part of the "Yellowstone" universe.

"Kevin Costner is a big part of Yellowstone, and we hope that's the case for a long time to come," the network wrote.

"Thanks to the brilliant mind of Taylor Sheridan, we are always working on franchise expansions of this incredible world he has built. Matthew McConaughey is a phenomenal talent with whom we'd love to partner."

Costner himself was slated to attend the PaleyFest event alongside Sheridan, executive producer David Glasser, as well as some of the show's other main cast members, but in a last-minute shakeup, they did not appear.

The lineup instead featured Lucas, Dawn Olivieri, Wendy Moniz, and Mo Brings Plenty.