Yesterday the news broke here that a sequel to Dances With Wolves called The Holy Road was going into production. Kevin Costner, who directed and starred in the first film, was already out as director with Simon Wincer hired to helm Dances 2. But what everyone wondered was whether Costner might be back to star in the film as Dunbar/Dances?

The answer to that question is no. We contacted Costner’s representation today, and were informed by his publicist Arnold Robinson that he’s out. Mr. Robinson told us quite plainly, “Mr. Costner is not involved in this project.” It doesn’t get much clearer than that.

It also doesn’t get much more disappointing than that. Word is there’s a huge part of Costner’s character in the movie. The book it’s based on begins 10 years after Dances with Wolves, and finds Costner’s Dunbar and his family now completely integrated into Comanche life. The movie is about him, and if they’re making a sequel we’ll have to watch some other actor attempt to be Kevin Costner. No thanks.

Making a sequel to Dances with Wolves is a dicey proposition to begin with, but doing it without any involvement at all from Costner makes it an instant disaster. The Holy Road is a road to nowhere as long as Kevin Costner isn’t part of it.