Kevin Costner’s Latest Report Might Upset Yellowstone Fans as Feud With Taylor Sheridan Stares at Ugly Fate for Season 5

Kevin Costner has played John Dutton III, the owner of Montana’s Yellowstone Dutton Ranch, in the Paramount series Yellowstone since 2018. Recent reports from the series provide no good news for the fans of the Western drama. Costner has reportedly left the series over a clash with creator Taylor Sheridan. With his alleged exit, the central character may be written out of Part 2 of the fifth and final season of the show.

Costner’s portrayal in the series received widespread acclaim and won him a Best Actor Award at the Golden Globes. The Man of Steel actor reportedly was not a pleasant presence behind the scenes, causing frustration for Sheridan and his co-stars.

Kevin Costner Reportedly Out Of Yellowstone Due to Feud With Taylor Sheridan

While the tensions between Kevin Costner and Taylor Sheridan have been brewing for some time, recent information from industry insider Matthew Belloni suggests that Costner will not be returning for the series finale. The production for Yellowstone was halted due to the SAG-AFTRA strikes, which ended on November 8th. Belloni also revealed that production will resume for Season 5 Part 2 in early 2024.

However, Costner wouldn’t be a part of this production due to his several issues with Yellowstone. For one, the Waterworld actor and creator Sheridan were engaged in a creative control battle, with Costner reportedly wanting to approve and veto the scripts. Costner, one of the executive producers of the series, also clashed with the production team over salary negotiations. Another issue was the scheduling conflicts with his passion project, Horizon: An American Saga.

Belloni, who appeared on The Town podcast, provided details about the Paramount series, including the involvement of the Hidden Figures actor. Belloni shared with The Town

“Yellowstone will probably go back into production at the beginning of the year. So it could be out this spring or summer. Scripts are already written, I’m told, or are being written. And the question is whether Costner is in those final episodes of this season of Yellowstone. And my understanding is that, as of now, he is not going to be in those episodes.”

Costner has also hinted at the possibility of taking the Yellowstone creators to court over his salary. Interestingly, Paramount canceled Yellowstone earlier this May, in favor of a sequel series reportedly featuring Matthew McConaughey. Other prequel series of Yellowstone, including the Harrison Ford starrer 1923, were also put on hold due to the strikes and are expected to resume production soon.

Yellowstone Troubles Were Visible With Kevin Costner’s Shrinking Presence

Paramount’s decision to cancel Yellowstone is presumed to be linked to the shrinking presence of Costner in the series. Part 1 of the final season, which premiered on the network last November, featured less of Costner’s character John Dutton. While The Bodyguard actor’s limited availability due to Horizon‘s shoot was initially believed to be the reason, it now appears that underlying issues may have contributed to this reduction.

Interestingly, Costner has a ‘moral death’ clause in his contract that lets the Dancing with Wolves actor dictate his character’s manner of death. This provision might have struck a chord with Sheridan, who desires unfettered creativity in his character-driven storytelling. Fans will have to wait until at least next November to see the potential outcome of the series without Costner’s central character.