Kevin Costner on why Yellowstone really ended

Olivia Richman Published 16/05/2024

It has long been said that popular TV show Yellowstone ended over some drama between star Kevin Costner and some of the other people working on the show. Now, Costner has opened up about what truly happened behind the scenes.

While promoting another western show, Horizon: An American Saga, Costner decided to answer some questions about what went down while filming Yellowstone. He claimed there was no drama between himself and Taylor Sheridan, as initially reported.

It was also previously believed that Costner got in trouble for prioritizing Horizon over Yellowstone, but he claimed this is also false. According to Costner, Sheridan was not nailing down a set schedule and he couldn’t get his hands on a finished script — the uncertainty had him walking away.

“I haven’t felt good about it the last year, what with the way they’ve talked about it,” Costner said. “It wasn’t truthful. So now I’m talking about a little bit about what the real truth of it was.”

Why did Kevin Costner leave Yellowstone?

According to Costner, the actor actually had a contract for Season 5, 6, and 7. Unfortunately, Season 6 and 7 never happened because Costner claimed that new negotiations happened after that focused on splitting Season 5 into two halves instead of making a sixth and seventh season.

At this point, Costner said he was prioritizing Yellowstone but trying to “fit Horizon into the gaps.” Unfortunately, the Yellowstone production crew kept “moving their gaps” and it was becoming too difficult for him.

Related: Is a Season 6 of Yellowstone coming?

He explained: “I made Yellowstone the first priority, and to insinuate anything else would be wrong. I did not initiate any of those things. They did. They were doing a tap dance and this poor guy [Taylor Sheridan] was also having to write so much. And I don’t know why they didn’t stick up for me.”

For this reason, Costner said that the rumors that he wasn’t committed to filming Yellowstone for Horizon are false. He explained that Yellowstone was not getting through 10 episodes at a time like he expected. He said he “only worked 43 days” since the team didn’t get enough done or stick to the schedule.

At one point, Costner left the Horizon set to make time for Yellowstone Season 5B. But then he saw there were no scripts and that the team was going to take more time than expected to film the episodes. In response, he offered to spend more time on the show but production was “still not ready” and he had to focus on Horizon since the release date was coming.

Will Kevin Costner return to Yellowstone?

Despite the issue, Costner said he’d love to take up the role of John Dutton again.

He said: “I’m very open to coming back. If they’ve got so many other things going on, maybe this circles back and it’s a really cool two seasons. Or end it, if the writing’s there and I’m happy with it. I’m open to that. But I took a beating over these guys not speaking up for me and allowing crazy stories to come out.”

Costner added he’s “not happy” with how it all went down but would come back if the “writing is there.” He explained that he didn’t take on Horizon “because he was tired of doing Yellowstone,” calling that a “bulls— story.”

“This is something I’ve had a long time,” he said.

Olivia Richman

About Olivia Richman

Olivia has worked in media ever since graduating from college, with her coverage ranging from traditional newspaper reporting to digital coverage of all things gaming, online betting, and nerd culture. She has traveled around the world pursuing that coverage, from the far coasts of the United States to the busy downtown core of Tokyo, Japan. Olivia’s favorite games include Overwatch and Super Smash Smash Bros, and she has been published at Esports Illustrated, Inven Global, EsportsInsider, Upcomer, and elsewhere.

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