Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan has revealed that Kevin Costner, who is exiting the Western series, was unhappy with the direction of his character in the show’s second season.
The series follows the ranch-owning Dutton family, with Costner starring as the patriarch John Dutton III. However, there were rumours that there were behind-the-scenes rifts between Costner and Sheridan, while Costner is set to leave the show after four seasons.
In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Sheridan clarified that Costner wasn’t happy with the direction his character was going in throughout the show’s second season.
“There was a time in season two 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?'” Sheridan said.
“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]. Kevin felt season two was deviating from that, and I don’t know that he was wrong. In season three, we steered back into it.”
Costner will be leaving the show, which will be coming to an end with season five. Costner is focusing on his own Western project — a movie series titled Horizon that he is starring in, directing and co-writing. The first film will reportedly premiere this September.
Sheridan also addressed Costner’s exit from the show, stating that while he was “disappointed” in the change of story arc for the character, he still respects Costner as an actor.
“His creation of John Dutton is symbolic and powerful,” Sheridan continued. “I’ve never had an issue with Kevin that he and I couldn’t work out on the phone.
“He took a lot of this on the chin and I don’t know that [he] deserves it. 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.”