Kevin Costner praised Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan for his fine work in the Western genre before the show’s production created a rift between them.
Taylor Sheridan established himself as one of the finest Western storytellers in an era when the genre was on a decline. Sheridan carved a name for himself in the television business by creating mega-hit shows like Yellowstone and its various spin-offs while his Western films such as Wind River also received critical acclaim.
Kevin Costner, the lead star of Sheridan’s Yellowstone, once praised the filmmaker as one of the finest storytellers to tackle the Western genre. Costner also inadvertently compared Sheridan and Western legend Clint Eastwood through his praise for the former. Here is what Costner had to say about Sheridan before their feud and how things stand between the two at present.
Kevin Costner Believed Taylor Sheridan Could Outshine Clint Eastwood as the King of Westerns
Taylor Sheridan co-created Yellowstone, starring Kevin Costner as John Dutton, a seventh-generation cattleman trying to save his ancestral ranch. The series gained immense popularity and spawned several spin-offs establishing Sheridan as a prolific force in Hollywood.
Back in 2018, Sheridan and Costner were on cordial terms with each other as the Western drama series was approaching the peak of its popularity. While speaking to Esquire in 2018, Costner could not help but gush over Sheridan’s creative sensibilities.
The people that Taylor admires from a film standpoint, he has a real chance to be better than all of them.
Costner used the above words to praise Sheridan’s storytelling skills when it comes to understanding the Western genre and its evolution.
As a result of his statement, Costner indirectly implied that Sheridan could surpass legends such as Clint Eastwood, who played a key role in revitalizing Westerns during the 1970s and 1980s. With Sheridan’s slate of Western shows expanding to include the critically acclaimed Yellowstone spin-offs 1883 and 1924, it is safe to say that he is indeed on track to become the modern King of Westerns.
Kevin Costner Still Wants to Work With Taylor Sheridan But His Latest Comments Might Restart Their Feud
Despite Costner lauding Sheridan praise, the two reportedly feuded over the production of the final season of Yellowstone. However, Costner recently appeared to be moving on from the alleged feud after he expressed a desire to reprise his role as John Dutton for the final episodes.
He’s very prolific about the things he does, and if he sees me in something that he wants to do, I’ll look at it just the way I did Yellowstone and maybe we will end up doing something together.
Costner made the above statement in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, hinting that we would collaborate with Sheridan on another project. However, in a separate interview with GQ, Costner stated that conditions for his return to Yellowstone had been laid out and it was ultimately up to Sheridan and his team to make the call. He said:
Taylor and I know what the conditions are for coming back.
Costner added that if he does not reprise his role for the final episodes it will most likely be because Sheridan and his team found his conditions unreasonable.
Furthermore, Costner also reportedly implied that Sheridan had likely borrowed story ideas from his upcoming epic Western film Horizon: An American Saga after its script had been shared with the producer before he worked on 1883. Therefore, Costner’s comments threaten to restart his feud with Sheridan despite the actor praising the latter on numerous occasions.
Yellowstone is streaming on Peacock while its spin-offs are available on Paramount+.
