“Yellowstone” star Kevin Costner is finally setting the record straight on his exit from the hit Paramount Network show.
“I didn’t do ‘Horizon’ because I was tired of doing ‘Yellowstone’,” Costner said. “That’s a [expletive] story.”
The “Horizon” that Costner is referring to is his forthcoming multi-part western movie saga that he spoke at length about with Deadline Hollywood this week. “Horizon: An American Saga” chapter one releases in theaters on June 28, while chapter two drops on Aug. 16.
Costner’s comments about his “Yellowstone” exit have come after a year and a half of online hullabaloo after word broke last spring that season 5 on the Dutton Ranch would be his last. Scheduling conflicts with his “Horizon” project were reportedly the reason for his departure.
Paramount confirmed last spring that “Yellowstone” as a whole would end in its current form with the final episodes of the fifth season, which is slated to air on the Paramount Network this November.
Costner was candid about his relationship with “Yellowstone” in his Deadline interview. Here’s what he said about the show:
Kevin Costner hasn’t ‘felt good’ about his ‘Yellowstone’ exit
When asked about his split from “Yellowstone,” Costner said the online discussion about his departure haven’t been forthright.
“Well, I haven’t felt good about it the last year, what with the way they’ve talked about it,” Costner told Deadline. “It wasn’t truthful. So now I’m talking about a little bit about what the real truth of it was.”
Costner said he made a contract for “Yellowstone” seasons 5, 6 and 7, but after months of negotiating Paramount made another contract.
Instead of seasons six and seven, the contract was for two parts of season 5 and potentially a sixth. Eventually, contract talks fell through.
“’Horizon’ was set in the middle, but ‘Yellowstone’ was first position,” Costner said. “I fit [’Horizon’] into the gaps. They just kept moving their gaps.”
Kevin Costner said he took ‘a beating’ from Paramount over ‘Yellowstone’
As Dutton Ranch holds plenty of action, Costner pulled no punches in describing his dealings with Paramount.
“I have taken a beating from those [expletive] guys and I know a lot of times where it’s coming from,” Costner told Deadline. “I just elected not to get into that.”
Costner was adamant that he made “Yellowstone” a first priority and to insinuate anything else “would be wrong”.
The contractual “tap dance” with Paramount not only prolonged Costner’s involvement in the show, but said it caused “Yellowstone” creator Taylor Sheridan to pick up the pen more.
“This poor guy was also having to write so much,” Costner said. “I don’t know why they didn’t stick up for me.”
Kevin Costner said he didn’t leave ‘Yellowstone’ to work on ‘Horizon’
When word first broke that Costner might leave “Yellowstone” after season 5, scheduling conflicts with “Horizon” were reportedly to blame. But now, Costner is saying “that’s not true”.
The actor said usually the show shoots from April and May, through August to get a 10-episode season in the can. However, during season 5 shooting the production only reached eight episodes.
“I only worked 43 days. So that’s [expletive],” Costner told Deadline. “That’s a lie. That’s not correct.”
The first half of “Yellowstone” season 5 aired eight episodes from November 2022 to January 2023.
After wrapping his allotted time for the first half of “Yellowstone” season 5, Costner said the production needed him back for four extra days just to complete the first eight episodes, days he said he took from “Horizon” production. He also noted that he “felt bad” audiences did not get 10 episodes in the first half of “Yellowstone” season 5.
When it came to filming the second half of the fifth season, Costner said there weren’t any scripts ready to go so production took a pause.
“What you read in the end was that I said, ‘Well, look, I’m doing my movie. If you want me to work a week because you want to kill me or whatever else, I can give you a week’,” Costner said. “I really didn’t have that week to give them, but I said, I’ll do that. And then they [spun that] into, I only wanted to work a week.”
Kevin Costner said he’s ‘very open to coming back’
Even if its just to finish out the back half of the fifth season, Costner is game to ride back to Dutton Ranch.
Despite the tumultuous relationship between “Yellowstone” executives and Costner, the actor said he’s “very open to coming back.”
“I took a beating over these guys not speaking up for me and allowing crazy stories to come out,” Costner told Deadline. “I’m not happy about that. But if the writing is there, I will be there too.”
At the end of the day, Costner said Paramount and 101 Studios “mismanaged” the entire situation. He was onboard for “Yellowstone” seasons 5, 6 and 7 before the show changed formats.
And as for the “Yellowstone” sequel series that will continue the show’s story, with original cast members such as Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser rumored to return, Costner wishes them well.
“I think that they should do whatever they want to do,” Costner said. “Am I open to coming back? I’ve never been in a position to tell them what to do. I can only do what I can do.”
