Kevin Costner and Jake Gyllenhaal team up in film Hollywood's been waiting 21 years for – here's why they almost weren't in it

Kevin Costner and Jake Gyllenhaal are teaming up for a new dramedy that Hollywood has been trying to get off the ground for 21 years.

Honeymoon With Harry, based on the novel of the same name by Bart Baker, tells the story of a man (Gyllenhaal) as he goes on a honeymoon with his would-be-father-in-law (Costner) after his fiancée tragically dies two days before their wedding.

While movie buffs will love seeing this dynamic on screens there was a time when Costner and Gyllenhaal were never part of the plan.

Amazon MGM has landed the rights to the project, although in the two decades Hollywood danced with the project it could've looked very different.

Vince Vaughn and Jack Nicholson were floated for the roles when New Line first snapped up Honeymoon With Harry in 2004.

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When Warner Bros. got their hands on the scripts in 2015, Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro were put forward as intended leads.

Now, all the stars are aligning as Glenn Ficarra and John Requa team up to direct the film from a script by Dan Fogelman.

That trio should give audiences an idea of what's to come. Ficarra, Requa and Fogelman were behind the success of well-regarded dramedy Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011).

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Kevin Costner's career and life

Costner, 70, has spent the last several years working on his passion project a Wild West epic Horizon: An American Saga.

The former Academy Award winning actor writes, directs, produces and stars in the multi-part series. The multi-party story includes Chapter 1, out now, and Chapter 2 coming soon to Stan.

From 2018 to 2024 Costner played John Dutton the lead protagonist in the much-loved Stan series Yellowstone.

In June 2024, Costner took to Instagram to announce that he wouldn't be appearing in Season 5 Part 2 of Yellowstone to work on Horizon: An American Saga.

There was also rumours that there was tension between Costner and Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan, which both parties spoke out about.

Jake Gyllenhaal's career and life

Gyllenhaal, 45, is best known for his intense portrayals in notable films such as Donnie Darko (2001), Brokeback Mountain (2005), and Zodiac (2007).

Recently, Gyllenhaal has executively produced and starred in the hit Apple series Presumed Innocent, earning Emmy and Golden Globe noms for Best Actor.

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The series remains Apple's number one most viewed drama and will return for a second season which Gyllenhaal will executively produce under his own company Nine Stories.

Upcoming, he'll also be seen in M. Night Shyamalan's Remain and sister Maggie Gyllenhaal's The Bride!, both for Warner Bros.

Gyllenhaal has been dating his partner French model Jeanne Cadieu since 2018.

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