Yellowstone, the wildly popular Western drama series is the product of Taylor Sheridan and Kevin Costner’s collaboration. It is safe to say that Costner’s mesmerizing portrayal of John Dutton is the reason that the show is so popular. The actor’s portrayal of the wealthy rancher was so outstanding that garnered a massive fan following for the show, allowing Sheridan to revive the forgotten Western genre.
However, the Waterworld actor parted ways from the show over a feud with the showrunner. Despite leaving the show on bad terms with Sheridan, he had nothing but praise for the show. Appearing as a guest on the Armchair Expert podcast, Costner showered the Wind River director with praise for creating the show with authenticity and brilliance that left people as a fan of Western dramas.
Kevin Costner on His Initial Reaction To Joining Yellowstone
Taylor Sheridan is on top of the world, and he has made a name for himself by writing some of the most solid scripts in the Western genre. He is considered to be the greatest modern screenwriter for creating character-driven projects like 1883, Tulsa King, Wind River, and many more.
However, his most renowned project of all would be Yellowstone. The show has hooked its audience and none can know this better than Kevin Costner, who recently praised Sheridan’s work in the TV Series.
During a chat on the Armchair Expert podcast, Costner mentioned how he “just believed in the world” created by Sheridan and how logic was defenestrated when they were making the show. He said,
I just believed in the world. I knew it was a soap opera. I knew we should all be in jail. We’ve all killed people there, and so you throw logic out the window, right, a little bit.
He explained that the primary reason that the show is a massive hit is because Sheridan wrote the script “really authentically” and how he focused on Kelly Reilly and his part.
He said,
He has a great ear, and he just wrote that stuff really authentically, and it was good fun. And he wrote my part especially well and Kelly [Reilly]’s part. So listen, I had a lot of fun with it.
Despite praising the show from the bottom of his heart, the actor might not return to reprise the role of John Dutton in the TV Series, though he gives a grim hope of being a professional and returning only if the story is there.
Kevin Costner Might Never Return To Reprise His Role of John Dutton
During an exclusive interview with Deadline, the Open Range actor shared how he is “very open to coming back,” if the show has a factor that compels him to return. However, he is not very delighted with the fact that Sheridan threw him under the bust when all the “crazy stories” were being published.
He said,
If they’ve got so many other things going on, maybe this circles back and it’s a really cool two seasons. Or end it, if the writing’s there and I’m happy with it. I’m open to that. But I took a beating over these guys not speaking up for me and allowing crazy stories to come out. I’m not happy about that. But if the writing is there, I will be there too. They had first position.
He clarified that he did not work in Horizon to rival Sheridan’s show, and how it was a “bulls**t story” that was published.
Furthermore, the mismanagement of the studios left him fuming. He said,
I didn’t do Horizon because I was tired of doing Yellowstone. That’s a bullsh*t story. I didn’t do Horizon to compete with Yellowstone. This is something I’ve had a long time. Taylor read that script three years earlier when he was contemplating other writers [for Yellowstone].
I said, well, you can look at what John [Baird] and I did, not that I think I’m qualified. I think you write Yellowstone beautifully. So, he read that and knew what the thing was about. It’s just that simple: Paramount and 101 Studios mismanaged this.
But more importantly, he wanted an explanation of when his 14 months of work went missing when the studios started to change their format. Costner added,
They had me for five, six, and seven. I agreed to do it. And then they steadily began changing their format. And what about the year that went missing? That 14 months?
Costner’s comments showcase how he is not delighted with Sheridan as well as the production studios because of the inefficient management. Moreover, with the way things have been the return of Costner looks near impossible.
Yellowstone Season 5: Part Two is expected to be released sometime in November 2024.
