‘Yellowstone’ Creator Breaks Silence On Show Ending, Kevin Costner Exit: ‘I’m Disappointed’

Taylor Sheridan, creator of the hit series “Yellowstone,” recently did an interview with The Hollywood Reporter discussing his thoughts on the show coming to an end with lead actor Kevin Costner exiting.

“My last conversation with Kevin was that he had this passion project he wanted to direct. He and the network were arguing about when he could be done with ‘Yellowstone.’ I said, ‘We can certainly work a schedule toward [his preferred exit date],’ which we did,” Sheridan said.

Fans were shocked that Costner would choose to depart when the show was more popular than ever, with multiple spinoffs, including “1923” and “1883,” on the air and several others in the works. But Sheridan said Costner wanted to work on his own Western-style project, which he’s apparently been developing for 35 years, instead of continuing with “Yellowstone.”

“My opinion of Kevin as an actor hasn’t altered,” Sheridan told THR. “His creation of John Dutton is symbolic and powerful … and 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,” Sheridan continued. “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.”

“I’m disappointed,” Sheridan said. “It truncates the closure of his character. It doesn’t alter it, but it truncates it.”

The interviewer noted how the “Yellowstone” creator hinted that John Dutton wouldn’t have survived through the entire series anyway. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP

“I don’t do f***-you car crashes,” Sheridan said, referencing a time when Shonda Rhimes killed off Patrick Dempsey’s character on “Grey’s Anatomy” amid rumors of drama on the set. “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.

Sheridan confirmed that more spinoffs would happen, including one likely involving Matthew McConaughey. 

As for the end of the original “Yellowstone” series, Sheridan said there could be more than six episodes in the second half of the fifth season. “If I think it takes 10 episodes to wrap it up, they’ll give me 10,” he said. “It’ll be as long as it needs to be.”