Taylor Sheridan Says Kevin Costner’s Abrupt ‘Yellowstone’ Exit Won’t Influence His Character’s Fate: “I Don’t Do F***-You Car Crashes”

Taylor Sheridan is sharing his side after Kevin Costner shockingly exited his smash-hit show Yellowstone. The creator and writer spoke with The Hollywood Reporter for a wide-ranging June 21 cover story in which he admitted he was “disappointed” by Costner’s exit and said it “truncates” his character arc.

Costner, who stars as patriarch John Dutton, was first rumored to be leaving Yellowstone earlier this year, and he was later confirmed to be exiting the show after Season 5. Sheridan seemed to have no hard feelings about the matter, but did hint at how Costner’s abrupt exit will impact Yellowstone‘s story.

He told THR, “I’ve never had an issue with Kevin that he and I couldn’t work out on the phone. 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 took a lot of this on the chin and I don’t know that anyone deserves it.”

Costner left Yellowstone to follow his own Western ambitions. THR reports that the actor wanted time to focus on his four-movie project, Horizon, and “requested to work fewer and fewer days on Yellowstone the last few seasons to focus on his movies, which frustrated producers.”  

However, a source claimed to THR that Costner had been “waiting” on Yellowstone scripts and kept getting his shooting dates pushed, telling the outlet, “Kevin’s been unfairly portrayed in this thing. How can you schedule something when there are no scripts? [Sheridan’s] doing eight other shows.”

Despite the apparent behind-the-scenes tension and conflicting narratives, Sheridan offered words of support for Costner, telling THR, “His movie seems to be a great priority to him and he wants to shift focus. I sure hope [the movie is] worth it — and that it’s a good one.”

While speaking with THR, Sheridan also denied a report that claimed he had once told Costner to “stick to acting” after he raised concerns about his character. Sheridan told the outlet he “never had that conversation with Kevin,” but added, “There was a time in Season 2 when he was very upset and said the character wasn’t going in the direction he wanted. I said, ‘Kevin, you do remember that I told you this is essentially The Godfather on the largest ranch in Montana? Are you that surprised that the Godfather is killing people?’

“What he’s clung to is [Dutton’s] commitments to his family and way of life. Dutton’s big failing is not evolving with the times — not finding different revenue streams [for the ranch],” Sheridan continued. “Kevin felt Season 2 was deviating from that, and I don’t know that he was wrong. In Season 3, we steered back into it.”

As for how Yellowstone will wrap Dutton’s chapter on the show, Sheridan suggested he could be killed off, or as THR put it, “taken to the train station,” but the series creator insisted, “I don’t do fuck-you car crashes,” like Patrick Dempsey’s Grey’s Anatomy death.

“Whether [Dutton’s fate] inflates [Costner’s] ego or insults is collateral damage that I don’t factor in with regard to storytelling,” Sheridan said.

Every episode of Yellowstone is now streaming on Peacock Premium.