So what’s going on with “Yellowstone” and the drama between Kevin Costner, Paramount, and the show’s writer/creator, Oscar-nominated writer Taylor Sheridan? Well, nothing, really; Paramount already announced that the second part of “Yellowstone” season five would be its last and that a new spin-off show centered around a new character played by Matthew McConaughey would be the new focus instead.
READ MORE: ‘Yellowstone’ Is Ending As Taylor Sheridan Plans New Matthew McConaughey-Led Franchise Extension Following Problems With Kevin Costner
But Puck News has an interesting update on the behind-the-scenes drama and how Costner kind of tried to fix the situation but then got in his own way. Spoiler alert, however, everything is currently where it stands: “Yellowstone” ends with season five, and the window to change is rapidly closing if not dead shut already.
The context, in case you don’t know the story: Costner has had a famously big ego in Hollywood since he was a massive star in the ‘80s and ‘90s; not much has changed, apparently. In short, he had so many demands on “Yellowstone,” and the shooting schedule—much of which vexed the entire cast beyond just Sheridan and Paramount—that he basically wrote himself off the show.
After demanding more money and that Paramount accommodate his own schedule—he’s been shooting his own movie “Horizon”—Sheridan and a fed up Paramount decided just to kill off his character, the Yellowstone ranching patriarch John Dutton, and end the show so as not to have to deal with Costner anymore. The idea would be to create a new show with many of the same characters but center it around a new alpha male (McConaughey).
Considering how popular the show is and how much money it makes everyone, you really have to consider how hard it was to work with Costner that Sheridan and Paramount would essentially kill their own meal ticket. In the end, you know the calculus was so bad, in the end, it was worth it to them.
Yet, according to Puck, Costner tried to salvage things and spent the summer trying to fix the situation. The outlet reports that, after talking with Paramount brass and lawyer, Costner finally got on the phone with Sheridan, and they tried to hash out their problems (remember, Sheridan has a vast empire on Paramount+ now and holds just as much power as its star if not more).
Costner wanted back in, according to Puck, and wanted a season six and seven of “Yellowstone.” Season 5B—the second part of “Yellowstone” that arrives TBD sometime this or next year (probably next at this point)—was already written before the strike and killed off John Dutton, but Sheridan was still willing to hear Costner out, and potentially scrap all of 5B and write it all over again if he could come to an agreement with Costner.
He could not. While Costner wanted to go on, according to the outlet, he also apparently—while on the phone with Sheridan—asked for more money, asked for more accommodation for his shooting schedule (which was a central sticking point in the first place, and get this, wanted creative veto power over writing choices involving John Dutton.
In fact, the Puck news piece alleges that Costner already had a “moral death” clause in his contract that basically forbade Sheridan and Paramount to kill off Dutton in any humiliating way because it would reflect poorly on Costner (!!!).
Costner is famously litigious (see what’s going on with his divorce in the celebrity gossip pages of People magazine), and apparently, he thinks he’s in the right here and thinks he can sue and use that “moral death” clause part of his contract as leverage even though he hasn’t read the scripts and doesn’t know how John Dutton dies.
And remember, season 5B has not been shot and still needs to be shot, which will make all of this extremely awkward! (Doubly so now that the cast’s grievances with Costner’s behavior have been made public too). In short, it’s all a big hot mess and will likely stay that way. Costner has publicly threatened litigation against Paramount, which has basically ended any chance of a hail mary salvo here.
So, the outcome is likely a very awkward final second half of season five—oh, to be a fly on the wall for that shoot— and then when that’s all wrapped up, moving on to this new McConaughey show (which let’s face it, is likely going to be the same show, more or less, but with an actor who isn’t a pain to work with).
The main question remains: did Sheridan write a regular final season of “Yellowstone” with a big dramatic finish and send-off for Costner at the very end? Or, were things so bad that he killed him off early in the season just to get it over and done with quickly, like a horse you want to put out of its misery? Time will tell.
Meanwhile, CBS is about to air all of “Yellowstone” starting Sunday, September 17, so the top-rated show will now have a giant new audience to connect with, just as Costner is about to leave it…