Kevin Costner is in talks to play former president Bill Clinton in a United Nations-focused TV series that hails from Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way, according to media reports.
Costner is attached to executive produce the series, which is titled “United” and is in early development, alongside DiCaprio. Produced in collaboration with the United Nations, the series will center on a UN mission to East Timor in 1999, known as the United Nations Mission in East Timor (UNAMET), which organized a referendum for the territory to ascertain whether the people of East Timor wanted more autonomy within Indonesia or independence.
David Raymond (“Night Hunter”), who has previously partnered with the UN’s Creative Community Outreach Initiative, will write and direct “United.” Appian Way will produce the series alongside Onwards Studios and Prime Focus DNEG, with production slated to begin in Atlanta and Spain next year, while Fifth Season handles distribution.
The referendum led to East Timor’s separation from Indonesia. Though, a subsequent humanitarian crisis and massive violence broke out following the vote, prompting UN intervention in the region. Clinton also played a role in deescalating the conflict.
Should Costner star in the series, it work mark the actor’s return to TV after “Yellowstone,” which he left before the final episodes of the fifth season to focus on his Western saga “Horizon: An American Saga.” Beyond “Yellowstone,” Costner hasn’t starred in many TV series, with his film credits including “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves,” “Dances with Wolves,” “The Postman,” “The Bodyguard,” “Let Him Go” and “Molly’s Game,” among others.
DiCaprio’s EP credits include “Killers of the Flower Moon,” “Sitting Bull,” “We Are Guardians,” “Shining Girls,” “Path of the Panther” and “Fin.”
