Costner left the series to focus on his films and is out of the last episodes
 |
| Image Credit: Paramount Network |
While the last episodes of Yellowstone are still out, Kevin Costner admitted to being disappointed with Paramount and the series' producers for not defending him against what, according to him, were "malicious rumors" about his departure from production. "I read all the stories," he admitted to People. "I was disappointed that no one on their side opened up and defended what I did for them," Costner explained, in the interview, that Yellowstone was proposed to him as a one-season thing, but that he ended up staying there for five seasons and dedicating himself completely to the production.
He added: "There came a point where I thought 'Wow, when is someone going to say something about what I did for them and not what I didn't do?'" For months, there was speculation that Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan and Paramount were thinking about the future of the series, whose audience per episode exceeds five million viewers, without Costner. This was confirmed, and the recording of the last episodes began without the actor. The problem is the availability of Costner, who had originally agreed to 65 days of filming on the series' set.
For the first part of the fifth season of Yellowstone, the star spent just 50 days, and for the second half, he was only available for a week of recording. Now, the rest of the series has apparently been written without him, and a spinoff continuing the story is in development, with Matthew McConaughey and Michelle Pfeiffer in talks to star. But time is not the only issue. His salary, and even the character's participation in the story, also matter. "[John Dutton] needs to be proactive about what happens, and I even have my own idea of how that might happen," he added. "But it's Taylor's show. I've already told him that. I have ideas for the story, but we'll have to wait and see."
He stepped away from Yellowstone to film the Western epic Horizon at Warner Bros. where he is both the director and main actor, which will have two films releasing in 2024. Shown in the USA on CBS and in Brazil on Paramount+, Yellowstone is Paramount's great jewel on television and already has two derivatives: the miniseries 1883, and the series 1923, which features Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren. This was recently renewed for a second season. Two more derivatives were confirmed: 1944 and 2024.
Starring Kevin Costner, Kelly Reilly, Luke Grimes, Cole Hauser, and Wes Bentley, the plot revolves around the Dutton family, which owns a large landholding empire and refuses to give up any piece of inherited land. On the one hand, large real estate companies want the property to expand urban space, on the other, indigenous communities protest against the illegal seizure of land that belongs to Native Americans. The second part of the final season of Yellowstone should arrive in December 2024. In Brazil, the series is released by Paramount+, and some seasons are also available on Netflix.
Source: People