Taylor Sheridan’s work with Yellowstone has been one that many fans have come to love for quite some time now. For the last five years, he was accompanied by Kevin Costner as the lead of the series. However, he decided to leave due to conflicts. The departure had been heartbreaking for the fans and they did not know whether or not the series would continue on without him.
Reportedly Costner was not sure about leaving the series because he tried coming back to it as well. The actor was ready to come back to the series, something that would have made the fans extremely happy. Unfortunately, that did not happen because of various reasons and the character of John Dutton would not be returning.
Kevin Costner Allegedly Tried Getting Back in Yellowstone
Kevin Costner left Yellowstone after working on the series for five years as the lead, John Dutton. Due to creative differences between him and Taylor Sheridan, he thought it was best to part ways with his character than to continue forward. However, according to Puck News it would seem as if the actor wanted to return to his role for the second half of the fifth season. His agents allegedly approached Taylor Sheridan to discuss and negotiate a deal regarding the same.
The dead allegedly did not work out even though Sheridan was open to changing the script. This was because Costner apparently wanted a lot of things different from how he was previously working. Not only did he want a lighter schedule but he also asked for more money.
His agents had been allegedly begging for Sheridan to let Costner back but the deal never came through because, in the end, the script did not meet his needs. No one was expecting the Waterworld actor to return, not even Sheridan. He had not planned on adding him to the script but once he learned that the actor wanted to return, he added him in the script, changing it accordingly.
Taylor Sheridan Has No Hard Feelings
During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Taylor Sheridan talked about how he felt after Kevin Costner was no longer a part of Yellowstone. Although the departure of the actor had been bittersweet, the director had no hard feelings.
“My opinion of Kevin as an actor hasn’t altered,” Sheridan stated. “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.”
Despite his disappointment, he did not let any of it stop him from respecting Costner and valuing his role in the series. Sheridan admitted that it was the involvement of the lawyers that made things worse between them but there was nothing he could do about it.