Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan has revealed there are ‘ongoing discussions’ with Kevin Costner to film the final episodes of the hit show.
The award-winning actor, 68, shocked fans everywhere when reports surfaced on May 3 that he decided he wanted to leave the show after five successful seasons.
Paramount confirmed the drama will end following the second half of the fifth season and there were concerns Costner could walk away before wrapping up the final episodes amid reports of a feud with Sheridan.
But Sheridan has revealed they are in discussions with him to film the last scenes with his character and said the scripts have not been completed yet, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The creator said: ‘My last conversation with Kevin was that he had this passion project he wanted to direct. He and the network were arguing about when he could be done with Yellowstone. I said, ‘We can certainly work a schedule toward [his preferred exit date],’ which we did.’
It comes after Costner’s estranged wife Christine Baumgartner filed for divorce on May 2 after 18 years of marriage and three children together citing ‘irreconcilable differences’. She is seeking nearly $250,000 in child support per month.
Sheridan hinted that Costner’s iconic character John Dutton was never going to be around until the end of the show.
‘My opinion of Kevin as an actor hasn’t altered,’ Sheridan says. “His creation of John Dutton is symbolic and powerful … and I’ve never had an issue with Kevin that he and I couldn’t work out on the phone,’ Sheridan said.
‘But once lawyers get involved, then people don’t get to talk to each other and start saying things that aren’t true and attempt to shift blame based on how the press or public seem to be reacting.
‘He took a lot of this on the chin and I don’t know that anyone deserves it. His movie seems to be a great priority to him and he wants to shift focus. I sure hope [the movie is] worth it — and that it’s a good one.’
The creator added: ‘I’m disappointed. It truncates the closure of his character. It doesn’t alter it, but it truncates it.’
Costner is currently embroiled in a bitter divorce battle with Baumgartner and court documents suggest he won’t take part in filming the rest of Yellowstone season five.
‘I do not anticipate that I will be on location for at least the rest of 2023,’ the filings state, despite the show being slated to start shooting in August.
The documents – which contained explosive claims – revealed that he would be returning to California this month to be with his children.
Sheridan hinted at how Costner’s character would not be around for the end of Yellowstone and the conclusion is no different to his original movie script.
Costner is leaving the show to focus on his new four-part film project called Horizon that he is set to direct, produce and star in. He has a mammoth shooting schedule of 220 days.
He has been working on producing it for 35 years and he finished the first film in November 2022 with the second on expected to wrap this week.
The actor is said to have asked to work fewer days during the last few seasons of Yellowstone and producers were reportedly frustrated.
But a source said Costner was ‘waiting on scripts’ and he blocked out time in his calendar to film the show but this was constantly pushed back.
‘Kevin’s been unfairly portrayed in this thing,’ the insider said. ‘How can you schedule something when there are no scripts? [Sheridan’s] doing eight other shows.’
It was claimed that Costner grew frustrated with the direction Dutton was heading and he was told by Sheridan to ‘stick to acting’.
But the director said this never happened but there was a point during season two where Costner was upset.
‘I never had that conversation with Kevin,’ he insisted. ‘There was a time in season two when he was very upset and said the character wasn’t going in the direction he wanted.
‘I said, “Kevin, you do remember that I told you this is essentially The Godfather on the largest ranch in Montana? Are you that surprised that the Godfather is killing people?”
‘What he’s clung to is [Dutton’s] commitments to his family and way of life. Dutton’s big failing is not evolving with the times — not finding different revenue streams [for the ranch].
‘Kevin felt season two was deviating from that, and I don’t know that he was wrong. In season three, we steered back into it.’
Sheridan added: ‘And I recall him winning a Golden Globe last year for his performance, so I think it’s working.’
Asked if he could do anything to stop the situation from escalating, he said: ‘I didn’t do anything to begin with!
‘I don’t dictate the schedule. I don’t determine when things start filming. I don’t determine when things air.
‘Those decisions are made by people way above me. My sphere of control is the content — that’s it. No production of mine has ever waited on me.’
But Paramount CEO Chris McCarthy pointed to Costner’s ‘very tight window’ as the reason why the show was ending earlier than expected.
‘We had a lead talent we adore, and [Costner’s] shooting four features back to back,’ he said.
‘This Yellowstone chapter is closing sooner than we all wanted, but we feel good with where it’s going to end.’
Yellowstone is scheduled to return in November and Sheridan has suggested it could be longer than the reported six final episodes.
But doubt has been cast over whether the show will be able to begin filming again as a result of the writer’s strike, which has thrown many long-running Hollywood productions into a state of uncertainty.
Conflict erupted recently between Costner, his estranged wife Baumgartner and tech entrepreneur Daniel Starr, who rented out a guest home from the former couple – and developed a close friendship with her.
The latest development in the Hollywood split comes after the Oscar-winning actor, filed court documents to compel Baumgartner to leave his 10-acre, $145 million beachfront compound in Carpinteria, California in line with their prenuptial agreement.
A source told The Sun about the incident involving Starr, 42, who was renting a home on the property, in a report published Monday.
The Dances With Wolves actor-director confronted Starr after learning that ‘Chris and Daniel hung out a lot’ while he was on location working on Yellowstone, the source told the outlet.
Starr had been renting out a beachfront guest house for around $64,000 a month, and Baumgartner ‘would come into his house almost daily,’ the source said.
Eventually, ‘there was a fallout and Kevin got wind of it, leading to ‘a row between him and Daniel,’ from which ‘things escalated from there.’
The source added that after Starr ‘moved in he became close friends with Chris and Kevin,’ and that ‘they’d hang out together with their kids.
‘But Kevin was always away filming, so Chris must have been lonely.’
Starr is a ‘respectful guy’ who didn’t ‘cross any lines’ in his dealings with Baumgartner, the source told the outlet, adding, ‘Chris didn’t like Daniel’s attitude towards their friendship. She texted him and said she wanted him out.’
The Yellowstone star shares three children with Baumgartner – sons Cayden, 16, and Hayes, 14, and daughter Grace, 13.
The veteran actor is also father to daughters Annie, 39, and Lily, 36, and son Joe, 35, with his ex-wife Cindy Silva; and son Liam, 27, with ex-girlfriend Bridget Rooney.
The source added, ‘Daniel thought really highly of Kevin and thought he was an excellent father to his kids. But Kevin hit the roof and sided with his wife. Ultimately, he wasn’t willing to hear Daniel out.’
Starr moved out this past March, the source said.
A representative for Starr told DailyMail.com Monday that Starr ‘wishes nothing but the best to Mr. Costner in his dispute with his estranged wife.’