TOMBSTONE Screenwriter Says Kevin Costner Tried to "Crush" the Movie

Tombstone is one of the most popular films of the ‘90s that has continued to sustain a gigantic fanbase over the decades. The star-studded cast includes Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, Sam Elliott, Bill Paxton, Powers Booth, Michael Biehn, Charlton Heston, Jason Priestley, Dana Delany, Thomas Haden Church, Billy Bob Thornton, Billy Zane, Terry O’Quinn and John Corbett, and the writing and performances are perfectly executed. The movie is watched, quoted, and celebrated to this day, but it was almost thwarted early on.

In case you don’t remember, huge star of the ‘90s Kevin Costner released a Tombstone-centered film a year after Tombstone was released, titled Wyatt Earp, and it didn’t do nearly as well. And according to a 1993 article published by Entertainment Weekly (via /Film), Tombstone’s screenwriter, Kevin Jarre, said that Kevin Costner turned down the chance to star in Tombstone, and he said Costner’s Earp was "an attempt to crush my picture." He said:

"After [Kevin Costner] read the script, he called and respectfully declined. He said he had a mini-series he was developing for pay-per-view on the whole life of Earp and we left it at that."

It sounds like there must be more to the story than Jarre is letting on, because if he just declined the role and went on to make something else, I don’t think that’s so vengeful as it is a coincidence. But that mini-series Costner spoke of was turned into the three-hour Wyatt Earp film that quietly came and went. Unfortunately for Costner, it wasn’t the hit that Tombstone was, but the star has gone on to have plenty of great roles, including his mega-hit western series Yellowstone, which is currently ongoing.