Kevin Costner is finally breaking his silence on the Yellowstone contract dispute that led to his premature exit from the hit Paramount Western Drama. The 69-year-old’s shocking exit from the biggest show on Paramount Network dominated headlines last year after reports surfaced. Costner was walking out following a dispute over the shooting schedule with the producers. Shortly after, showrunner Taylor Sheridan announced that the series would end with Season 5, split into two parts.
Kevin Costner has remained tight-lipped about the dispute save for a few comments earlier this year where, to fans’ delight, he expressed interest in returning for a potential season 6. As he prepares to premiere the first part of his western epic Horizon: An American Saga at Cannes, Costner, in an interview with Deadline, provided a detailed account of what went down with the show’s producers, including Taylor Sheridan.
During the interview with Deadline, Kevin Costner addressed the allegedly false narrative circulated in the media after his departure. It was reported last year Costner was leaving the show as he was invested in the production of his movie Western epic Horizon.
Kevin Costner told Deadline he left the set of his movie Horizon to shoot the second half of Yellowstone’s fifth season last year after working for 43 days on the first part of the show, which aired in 2022. However, he returned to Horizon sets as the scripts of Yellowstone allegedly weren’t ready. He explained, “They needed four more days to complete the first eight episodes. I left early to give them what they needed to have a complete eight, and I felt bad that the audience didn’t get 10. They didn’t have the scripts for anything else.”
Costner revealed he offered to return for a week to shoot the remaining two episodes, but the offer was subsequently twisted into reports that he was only willing to shoot for seven days.
Kevin Costner then slammed the producers for letting the narrative play out in the media that he prioritised his movie Horizon over Yellowstone. He said, “I have taken a beating from those f*cking guys, and I know a lot of times where it’s coming from. I just elected not to get into that.”
Costner clarified that he always prioritised Yellowstone and “to insinuate anything else would be wrong.” Costner explained he was contracted for seasons five, six, and seven. But after a brief negotiation, the producers presented another contract where instead of seasons six and seven, they were going to split season 5 into two parts, 5A and 5B, and maybe later film six.
Costner alleged that the filming of his movie Horizon was set to occur between the breaks in Yellowstone shoots. Costner explained he had to leave to shoot Horizon as Yellowstone producers “kept moving their gaps” and didn’t stick to the schedule.
Costner expressed disappointment the producers did not stick up for him after the reports were twisted in the media, saying, “I did not initiate any of those things. They did. They were doing a tap dance, and this poor guy also had to write so much. And I don’t know why they didn’t stick up for me.”
Despite the disagreements, Costner said he would return to the series if asked.
