No, Billy Bob Thornton Isn’t Set To Leave ‘Landman’ Anytime Soon

Despite all of the rumors flying around, there’s no indication that Billy Bob Thornton is set to exit Landman.

Thornton, who plays Tommy Norris in the hit Taylor Sheridan show on Paramount+, has quite the impressive resume when it comes to writing, acting and directing. Whether it be his breakout writing and acting in Sling Blade, or his award-winning role in Fargo, the 70-year-old has been highly sought after for a long, long time.

The latest success he’s been involved with is Landman, which is currently airing its second season, and has already been renewed for a Season 3.

Because of some of the latest happenings in the show (specifically Episode 8 of Season 2), there’s been a lot of talk that Thornton could be replaced. Granted, his character did invite his son, Cooper (played by Jacob Lofland), to take over landman responsibilities for M-Tex Oil. Since that’s the job that Tommy Norris previously filled, and was still doing as he also ran the company, some fans just assumed that the move was a set up for Thornton to leave the show altogether.

Would that be an unexpected surprise? Yes, it would. But is that likely? No, it’s not.

Billy Bob Thornton actually signed on to do the series for “four or five years” in his contract for Landman, and has said previously that he wants to play Tommy Norris for as long as he’s able. Thornton was very straightforward in saying that when The Hollywood Reporter asked if he could see Landman going on for a long time, and if would want to stick around the whole time if it did:

“Well, yes, absolutely. As long as I’m able, I want to do it. Or, until the story runs out. When I did (Amazon’s) ‘Goliath,’ where I played a lawyer, I signed up for four years. And after those four years, we were satisfied. Sometimes people can go a bridge too far. There are certain shows that have been on for 12, 14, 17 seasons.

After a while, it’s like, ‘Okay, we get it. But what are you going to come up with next?’ You either have to do something ridiculous or repeat stuff you’ve already been doing. So I think ‘Landman,’ as an entity, will know when it’s over.”

Could that “as long as I’m able” coincide with that four-to-five year contract of his? Probably so. I’d highly doubt that Taylor Sheridan would opt to kill off another leading man. Fans of the “Sheridan Universe” likely remember that didn’t go over all that well when it happened with Kevin Costner and Yellowstone.

But that’s basically a whole different beast. Costner had other projects he was diving into, and at one point, that tied the hands of the Yellowstone team… and they had no choice but to have his John Dutton character exit stage right. Billy Bob Thornton is saying in interviews that he wants to do Landman for as long as he can… which in theory could even surpass that “four or five years” that he signed on for.

Though you also have to factor in the fact that Taylor Sheridan is leaving Paramount for NBC Universal at the end of 2028, which could affect how long some of his shows run (it may have already impacted Mayor of Kingstown).

The post No, Billy Bob Thornton Isn’t Set To Leave ‘Landman’ Anytime Soon first appeared on Whiskey Riff.