Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan has made a rare comment about Kevin Costner’s exit from the western, years after rumors of a behind-the-scenes feud were rumored.
Appearing on Sunday’s “Bill Simmons Podcast,” the producer, 56, claimed that the “Bodyguard” star, 71, was originally only “slated to be on the show for the first three seasons.”
“It was in his contract. In my mind, that’s when his youngest son would take over (on the show)…But even if Kevin was ready, the network was very afraid that Kevin wouldn’t be on the show,” he explained.
“He was ready to leave. He had other things he wanted to do, but he stayed for two more seasons.”
Costner continued to star in the series because it was “so huge,” Sheridan noted.
“It was a very big hit. The concept of giving up on a hit before you run out of juice to squeeze it out is very foreign to a network.”
“There was even pressure from some cable companies to sign up for X seasons of ‘Yellowstone’ to re-promote the cable company. That’s the power of a truly blockbuster show.”
However, Costner ultimately decided he needed to “do[his]own thing.”
Representatives for Mr. Costner did not immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment.
The blockbuster Western, which aired from 2018 to 2024, followed John Dutton (Costner), a powerful Montana rancher and politician, and his family, including Beth (Kelly Reilly), Rip (Cole Hauser), Casey (Luke Grimes), and Jamie (Wes Bentley).
As fans may recall, Costner’s character was killed off in the series’ final season, which aired in 2024, amid rumors of a feud between Costner and Sheridan.
In 2023, a TV producer confessed that Costner was the one who pushed for his departure from the hit drama, and said he was “disappointed” by Costner’s departure.
“[Costner’s departure]would truncate the end of his character. It doesn’t change it, but it truncates it,” he told The Hollywood Reporter at the time.
“My last conversation with Kevin was that he had a passion project that he wanted to direct,” Sheridan said. “He and the network were discussing when he could finish ‘Yellowstone.’ I said, ‘We can definitely schedule it for[his desired exit date],’ and that’s exactly what we did.”
“His portrayal of John Dutton is iconic and powerful…and Kevin and I have never had a problem getting on the phone,” Sheridan said.
“But when lawyers get involved, people can’t talk to each other, they start saying things that aren’t true, and they try to shift the blame based on the press and public reaction. He took a lot of this on the chin, and I don’t know who deserves it. His movies seem to be such a priority for him that he wants to shift his focus.”
The following year, Costner released Horizon: An American Saga.
Although he was no longer on the show, his character was mentioned several times in the spinoff “Dutton Ranch,” which premiered in May.
