Kevin Costner may have left the Dutton Ranch behind, but now he’s heading somewhere even more dramatic: the Oval Office. The Yellowstone star is in negotiations to play President Bill Clinton in United, an ambitious new political drama series produced by Leonardo DiCaprio and developed in collaboration with the United Nations. Per a new report, United is written and directed by David Raymond (Night Hunter) and will dramatize real UN-led humanitarian missions beginning with the 1999 crisis in East Timor. The series is focusing on the high-stakes decisions made during a period of devastating violence following East Timor’s independence referendum. Costner is negotiating to portray Clinton during this tense global moment, when the administration played a key role in helping de-escalate the crisis.

Also circling a major role is Chukwudi Iwuji (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Peacemaker), who is in talks to play UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. If both deals close, the series will bring together two powerhouse performers to reenact one of the UN’s most consequential humanitarian interventions. Costner is no stranger to historical roles—he’s played Eliot Ness, Wyatt Earp, and DA Jim Garrison — and United marks another return to real-world drama. After stepping away from Yellowstone and releasing the first chapters of his Western epic Horizon: An American Saga, Costner is embracing a new kind of leadership role as a former President of the United States.

Behind the scenes, United is backed by heavyweight producers including DiCaprio’s Appian Way, Onwards Studios, and Prime Focus DNEG, with shooting planned for Atlanta and Spain next year. DiCaprio’s recent slate includes the Oscar-nominated Killers of the Flower Moon and several humanitarian-focused projects, making United a natural fit.

What Is ‘United’ About

Deadline described the series like so:

“United presumably looks at the 1999 uprising in East Timor, which took place following a UN-organized independence referendum in the territory. East Timor was a Portuguese colony up until 1975, briefly asserting independence before being annexed by Indonesia, in an invasion supported by the administration of U.S. President Gerald Ford. In subsequent decades, those in the territory endured military repression, famine, and widespread human-rights abuses. But by the late ’90s, Indonesia was politically weakened, and the people of East Timor were allowed to vote on whether to remain within Indonesia or become independent.”