The actor and director speaks for the first time in detail about his falling out with the producers and creator of “Yellowstone”.
The behind-the-scenes drama at Yellowstone continues. In a new interview with DeadlineKevin Costner claims that he was ready and willing to move forward with Yellowstone, per his contract with the series, but that production was not ready on schedule.
Until last April when he briefly spoke, Kevin Costner remained discreet about his departure from the series. As he prepares to premiere the first part of his epic western Horizon: An American Saga at Cannes, the actor and director offers a much more detailed account of his version of the conflict with Yellowstone producers, including its creator Taylor Sheridan.
A difficult time
“Last year I didn’t feel good about it, because of the way they talked about it. It was not true. So now I talk a little about what the truth was” Costner said in the lengthy interview with Deadline.
“I signed a contract for seasons five, six and seven. In February, after two or three months of negotiations, they signed another contract. They wanted to redo this deal, and instead of seasons six and seven, it was 5A and 5B, and maybe a sixth. They could not achieve them. Horizon was located in the middle, but Yellowstone was in first place. I brought in [Horizon] in the intervals. They kept moving their dates.“
His side of the story
Kevin Costner said he worked for 43 days on the first half of the fifth season of Yellowstone, which aired in late 2022. He left the set of Horizon to shoot the second part of Yellowstone, but according to him, the scripts were not were not ready.
“And then it imploded. You read one version of what happened for a year and a half. I left my film to be there for season 5B. I left exactly when they wanted me to, which made it difficult for me. It turned out they didn’t have the scripts for season 5B. It took them four more days to complete the first eight episodes. I left early to give them what they needed to complete the eight episodes, and I felt bad that the audience didn’t get 10. They didn’t have the scripts for the rest.“
Ready to come back
After that, Kevin Costner was set to return to production on Horizon – which he directed, co-wrote and stars in – but he offered to work an extra week if necessary. According to him, this offer was distorted by reports according to which he was “notonly willing“to return to Yellowstone”only for a week“.
The actor says he’s unhappy with how the whole thing played out, but he also says he would return to the show if asked. “If they have so much else going on, maybe it’ll go back and do two really cool seasons.” did he declare.
“Or they conclude, if they have finished writing and I am satisfied with it. I’m open to that. But I took a beating because these people didn’t stand up for me and allowed crazy stories to come to light. I’m not happy about it. But if the writing is there, I will be there too.“
And what’s next?
Upon the announcement that Yellowstone was nearing its conclusion, Paramount Network (the US broadcaster) announced that the 2024 series would be the first-ever Yellowstone sequel: a contemporary story set after the events of Yellowstone that would continue to explore the dynasty of the Dutton family with new characters and locations, as well as some existing characters, according to the press release at the time.
The series was ordered directly. The network also announced another prequel, 1944, which would follow in the footsteps of the 1883 and 1923 miniseries, the latter of which was eventually renewed for a second season.