Taylor Sheridan has finally spoken out about the Yellowstone Exit controversy involving Kevin Costner. Following several months of rumors and conjecture, the show’s creator has finally spoken out about his thoughts toward the show’s leading actor.
At the beginning of this year, rumblings began to spread that things were not going swimmingly in the Yellowstone community. The megahit show was picked up for a supersized fifth season, which was scheduled to be broken up into two halves over the course of 2022 and 2023.
However, it appeared that there was drama brewing behind the scenes, and as fans began to wonder why there was no news on the filming of the second half of the season, speculation suggested that the show could be coming to an end.
According to a rumor that was published by Deadline in February, word had it that star Kevin Costner, who portrays the role of Yellowstone patriarch John Dutton, was delaying the production timeline. According to the publication, Costner intended to cut down on the amount of time he spent filming the show.
However, Costner’s lawyer later referred to the assertions as “an absolute lie.” In May, Costner stated that he would not be returning to the program after the fifth season, and shortly after that, Paramount revealed that the show itself would be ending with the yet-to-be-filmed second half of the season’s storyline.
Since then, many people have speculated about the circumstances surrounding the abrupt conclusion of the series. There have been various speculations that Kevin Costner and Yellowstone’s famously hands-on creator Taylor Sheridan had butted heads, ultimately leading to the actor’s resignation from the show. There has been no public discussion of the matter between the two parties up to this point; but, in a recent interview with THR, Sheridan discussed the matter as well as his views toward Costner.
Sheridan informed the publication that his view of Kevin as an actor has not changed when he first formed it. “His conception of John Dutton is compelling in both symbolism and in effect… And Kevin and I have never had a disagreement that we couldn’t iron out over the phone. That’s never happened.
People start stating things that aren’t real and seek to transfer blame based on how the press or public appears to be reacting after attorneys get involved. However, once lawyers get involved, people don’t get to talk to each other and start saying things that aren’t true. He took a lot of this criticism on the chin, and I’m not sure anyone else deserves it.