- Taylor Sheridan has broken his silence over Kevin Costner's departure from "Yellowstone."
- "I'm disappointed," he told The Hollywood Reporter. "It truncates the closure of his character."
"Yellowstone" co-creator and showrunner Taylor Sheridan said he was left "disappointed" by lead actor Kevin Costner's decision to exit the series, but downplayed the idea that the two had a major falling out.
Rumors that trouble had been brewing behind the scenes on the Paramount Network drama between Sheridan and Costner — who recently won a Golden Globe for his performance as aging rancher John Dutton — began to circulate in February. In May, it was confirmed the show would be ending at the end of its current fifth season.
In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Sheridan addressed the drama for the first time.
"I've never had an issue with Kevin that he and I couldn't work out on the phone," he said when asked about the disagreements over shooting schedules and required days on set that led to Costner bidding farewell to the series.
"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 continued. "He took a lot of this on the chin and I don't know that anyone deserves it."
Sheridan said that his "opinion of Kevin as an actor hasn't altered" in light of the tension, as "his creation of John Dutton is symbolic and powerful."
However, he expressed frustration that Costner's exit has affected how he will write the end of the series, something that he has had planned out since the early days of "Yellowstone."
"I'm disappointed," he said. "It truncates the closure of his character. It doesn't alter it, but it truncates it."
Sheridan hinted that the ending of the series will see the character killed off, but made it clear that it wouldn't be in a conveniently timed car crash like Patrick Dempsey's character on "Grey's Anatomy," or his own on "Sons of Anarchy."
"I don't do fuck-you car crashes," Sheridan said of the technique often employed by writers as a way to kill off characters amid behind-the-scenes tension.
According to Sheridan, Costner left the series to pursue his upcoming four-movie Western saga, "Horizon," which he is co-writing, producing, directing, and starring in.
The showrunner said there are ongoing discussions to try to convince Costner to film scenes for the last batch of episodes, however, there appears to be a dispute over whether scripts for the final episodes are ready.
"My last conversation with Kevin was that he had this passion project he wanted to direct," he said. "He and the network were arguing about when he could be done with 'Yellowstone.'"
Sheridan added that he has tried to accommodate Costner's preferred exit date.
But a source told the outlet that Costner has been kept "waiting on scripts" and has repeatedly had shooting dates pushed back.
"How can you schedule something when there are no scripts?" they said, adding that Sheridan is "doing eight other shows."
Despite the conflicting stories of how things went down, Sheridan appeared supportive of Costner's new project.
"His movie seems to be a great priority to him and he wants to shift focus," he said, adding that he hopes the movie is "a good one."
Representatives for Costner did not immediately respond to a request for comment.