Kevin Costner talks Yellowstone exit during divorce battle

Kevin Costner discussed his exit from Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone series during divorce battle with estranged wife.

Kevin Costner is currently in the middle of a divorce battle with estranged wife Christine Baumgartner, so naturally, there’s a lot of money on the table. After taking the stand to be questioned by his ex-wife’s lawyers, Kevin Costner spilled a few details regarding his exit from Yellowstone, the hit Western series co-created by Taylor Sheridan.

It was announced several months ago that the current incarnation of Yellowstone would be coming to an end as Kevin Costner had decided to exit the series, but that wasn’t meant to be the end. While on the stand, the actor said that he had originally been in negotiations to stick around for seasons five, six, and seven of Yellowstone, with a $12 million payday for each season. However, that changed when season five was split into two parts.

“Somewhere along the line they wanted to change things,” Costner said. “They wanted to do 5A and 5B… affected ‘Horizon.’ I was going to do my movie ‘Horizon’ and leave that show, do my movie, then do B. A show I was only doing once a year I was now doing twice.” The actor added that he had even shifted filming on Horizon to accommodate the changed schedule, but by the time he was ready, the show wasn’t. Still, Costner said that negotiations for season six continued before they eventually fell apart. “We did negotiate,” he said. “There were issues about creative. I tried to break the log jam. They walked away.” Costner added that he’s “disappointed in the production” and will “probably go to court over it.“

When it was announced that Kevin Costner would be exiting the series, Paramount quickly announced a sequel series that would continue the story of the Duttons with Matthew McConaughey tapped to star. “Yellowstone has been the cornerstone on which we have launched an entire universe of global hits, from 1883 to Tulsa King, and I am confident our Yellowstone sequel will be another big hit, thanks to the brilliant creative mind of Taylor Sheridan and our incredible casts who bring these shows to life,” Paramount Network president, Chris McCarthy, said in a statement at the time.

Yellowstone co-creator Taylor Sheridan opened up about the unfortunate drama regarding Kevin Costner’s exit. “My opinion of Kevin as an actor hasn’t altered. 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,” Sheridan explained. “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. 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 Taylor Sheridan is “disappointed” by the exit of his leading man, he is looking forward to working with Matthew McConaughey. “He seems like a natural fit,” Sheridan said. “We had a few conversations over the years, and spitballed a few ideas. Then he started watching Yellowstone and responded to it. He was like, ‘I want to do that.’ And by ‘that’ he meant diving into a raw world clashing up against the modern world. And then I said, ‘Buddy, that we can do.’“