Kevin Costner Says He Still Wants Seven Seasons of ‘Yellowstone’ Despite Series Exit Rumors: ‘I’d Love to Do It’

Samantha Bergeson
·4 min read
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Kevin Costner is detailing his Manifest Destiny approach to “Yellowstone” despite rumors of his series exit after Season 5.

Costner, whose self-funded Western, “Horizon: An American Saga,” will be premiering at Cannes, told Entertainment Tonight that he originally hoped to star in seven seasons of the Paramount show.

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“I’d like to be able to do it but we haven’t been able to,” Costner said for an update on the show. “I thought I was going to make seven [seasons] but right now we’re at five. So how it works out — I hope it does — but they’ve got a lot of different shows going on. Maybe it will. Maybe this will circle back to me. If it does and I feel really comfortable with [it], I’d love to do it.”

Costner added his own plot ideas for his character John Dutton, who is the patriarch of the Dutton family.

“Well, you know, [John Dutton] needs to be proactive in what happens and I’ve kind of had my own fantasy how it might be, but that’s Taylor’s thing,” Costner said, citing series creator and showrunner Taylor Sheridan. “I said as much to him a while back. I had thoughts how it could happen, but we just have to see.”

Costner previously revealed during his divorce proceedings that he “did negotiate” to return for three more seasons of the hit Paramount series created by Taylor Sheridan (via The Independent). However, due to alleged scheduling conflicts, Costner was said to have eventually exited the show, leading to its fifth season being its final installment.

Costner called the situation “complicated” with tensions stemming from the “creative” team, consisting solely of Sheridan.

“There were issues about creative. I tried to break the logjam,” Costner said. “They walked away.” The “Dances With Wolves” actor added that he will “probably go to court” over the failed negotiations. The actor noted that he was offered $24 million for seasons six and seven if greenlit.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, showrunner Sheridan said that he “never had an issue” with Costner.

“But once lawyers get involved, then people don’t get to talk to each other and start saying things that aren’t true and attempt to shift blame based on how the press or public seem to be reacting,” Sheridan said. “He took a lot of this on the chin and I don’t know that anyone deserves it. His movie seems to be a great priority to him and he wants to shift focus. I sure hope [the movie is] worth it — and that it’s a good one.”

Sheridan added that Costner’s character’s final arc was “truncated” over Costner’s production schedule.

“I’m disappointed,” he said. “It truncates the closure of his character. It doesn’t alter it, but it truncates it.”

A former Deadline report claimed that Costner only wanted to spend one week filming his seasons for the second half of Season 5, with Costner instead looking to make time to direct his long-awaited passion project film “Horizon: An American Saga.” To note, Costner initially only spent 65 days of shooting on the series during its first few seasons. For the first part of Season 5, Costner reportedly demanded that be reduced to 50 days, and for the second batch of episodes, he allegedly requested that he only spend a week filming.

Yet Costner’s attorney Marty Singer told Puck in February 2023 that the rumor was an “absolute lie,” saying, “It’s ridiculous – and anyone suggesting it shouldn’t be believed for one second. As everyone who knows anything about Kevin is well aware, he is incredibly passionate about the show and has always gone way above and beyond to ensure its success.”

At the time, Paramount issued a press statement citing the upcoming spinoffs without Costner: “We have no news to report. Kevin Costner is a big part of ‘Yellowstone’ and we hope that’s the case for a long time to come. Thanks to the brilliant mind of Taylor Sheridan, we are always working on franchise expansions of this incredible world he has built. Matthew McConaughey is a phenomenal talent with whom we’d love to partner.”

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