Taylor Sheridan breaks silence on Kevin Costner’s ‘Yellowstone’ exit
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It doesn’t sound like “Yellowstone” creator Taylor Sheridan and series star Kevin Costner have spoken a whole lot over the last several months – or at least since Costner decided he wanted to leave the series to pursue his passion project, the Western franchise “Horizon.”
“My last conversation with Kevin was that he had this passion project he wanted to direct. He and the network were arguing about when he could be done with ‘Yellowstone,’” Sheridan told The Hollywood Reporter in a new interview. “I said, ‘We can certainly work a schedule toward [his preferred exit date],’ which we did.”
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Back in February, Deadline reported Costner wanted to depart the blockbuster series after the final batch of Season 5 episodes. At the time, the trade suggested Costner only wanted to work on the show for a single week, a timeline the actor’s lawyer dismissed as completely false.
“The idea that Kevin was only willing to work one week on the second half of Season 5 of ‘Yellowstone’ is an absolute lie,” Costner’s lawyer Marty Singer told Puck’s Matthew Belloni in February. “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.”
Costner’s departure from the show was finally confirmed in May, with the suggestion that “Yellowstone” Season 5B would air later this year. That release plan, however, remains written in very lightly drawn pencil due to the current writers’ strike, which could extend well into the fall.
In the interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Sheridan dismissed the notion that he and Costner clashed on the show.
“My opinion of Kevin as an actor hasn’t altered. His creation of John Dutton is symbolic and powerful … and I’ve never had an issue with Kevin that he and I couldn’t work out on the phone,” Sheridan said. “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. 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.”
“Horizon” is a multi-part film project Costner has wanted to make since the 1980s. The actor and director, an Oscar winner for “Dances With Wolves,” assembled an all-star cast for the series, including Sienna Miller, Thomas Haden Church, Sam Worthington, Luke Wilson, and “Stranger Things” star Jamie Campbell Bower. “‘Horizon’ is incredibly meaningful to me. It’s really been the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but it’s exactly what I want to do,” Costner told PEOPLE in November 2022. “I wrapped this first one, and it took everything I had, but I’m holding on to the rope and not letting go.”
With Costner leaving the “Yellowstone” ranch for good at some point in the near future, a spin-off sequel series is planned with Matthew McConaughey in negotiations to star. “He seems like a natural fit,” Sheridan said to The Hollywood Reporter about the Oscar-winning actor. “We had a few conversations over the years, and spitballed a few ideas. Then he started watching Yellowstone and responded to it. He was like, ‘I want to do that.’ And by ‘that’ he meant diving into a raw world clashing up against the modern world. And then I said, ‘Buddy, that we can do.’”
As for the fate of John Dutton, Sheridan said he was “disappointed” Costner’s real-world departure had impacted the fictional character. “It truncates the closure of his character. It doesn’t alter it, but it truncates it,” he suggested.
“Yellowstone” will come back eventually. Sheridan has many other projects, most of which he discussed with The Hollywood Reporter. For fans of “Yellowstone,” the whole piece is well worth the read.
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