The career-defining role Kevin Costner refused to reprise: “I’m not best served doing that”

Kevin Costner declined to reprise Lieutenant John J. Dunbar in a proposed sequel to *Dances With Wolves*, despite the follow-up novel making his return seem like a natural choice. He said he did not think the film would serve him well, and was wary of making it mainly for money or risking the original’s legacy.

The sequel novel, *The Holy Road*, was published in 2001 by Michael Blake, who also wrote the original story. Costner’s 1990 film won seven Oscars and earned $424 million worldwide; in 2003, he criticised Hollywood’s focus on box-office performance as a measure of a film’s worth. The article notes that he has made a few later cameo appearances as Pa Kent, but has generally avoided sequels.