Kevin Costner’s tenure as John Dutton in Yellowstone came to an abrupt end last year due to creative differences with series creator Taylor Sheridan. After a successful four-and-a-half season run, the show is now at a standstill with Costner’s departure causing a huge problem for its continuity. Filming for the second half of the fifth season has not begun yet.
In between shooting season 5, Costner was also finding free time to shoot his passion project Horizon: An American Saga. One of his co-stars from Yellowstone, Luke Grimes recently spoke about Costner’s departure and how he chose to devote more of his time to his passion project after his fallout with Sheridan.
Luke Grimes Understands Kevin Costner’s Yellowstone Departure For His Passion Project
Kevin Costner’s infamous departure from Yellowstone made headlines last year. After the first half of the show’s fifth season was over, reports started coming out that the actor had left the show over money disputes and creative disagreements with Taylor Sheridan (via People). The actor was also devoted to shooting his passion project Horizon: An American Saga, but the half-season split of season 5 caused problems for him.
Costner’s co-star Luke Grimes, who plays John Dutton’s son Kayce Dutton, recently talked to The Independent about the ‘unfortunate’ events that led to Costner’s departure. Grimes stated that he knew Costner was working on Horizon at the time season 5 of Yellowstone was in production.
He understands Costner’s decision to rather focus on Horizon after his fallout with Sheridan because the project was something Costner had been working on for a very long time. Grimes said,
“Whatever happened there is unfortunate if it’s changed anything about how the show was going to unfold. I know, [Costner] got busy with his movies that were like passion projects [the newly announced Horizon: An American Saga for one]. At a certain point, you gotta do what you gotta do, man; you gotta do what you love.”
Costner has recently expressed his desire to return as John Dutton to finish the remaining episodes of Yellowstone. However, it seems the problem between him and the makers has not been resolved yet. While Costner has his first two films of Horizon: An American Saga ready for release, Yellowstone season 5 part 2 has not even started shooting. It remains to be seen how they tie up the series as a whole.
Kevin Costner Turned Down Chris Hemsworth In His Upcoming Romance Film
Kevin Costner is gearing up for the release of his passion project Horizon: An American Saga. While he has finished shooting two of a 4-film plan, it seems he is also working on other projects. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight (ET) at CinemaCon 2024, Costner revealed that Chris Hemsworth wanted to star in a romance film that the former was developing.
Costner laughed at the news and stated that Hemsworth might have to wait or search for another love story as he is going to star in that film. Nevertheless, the Yellowstone star had great words for the Thor actor calling him one of the great leading men in Hollywood currently. Costner said,
“It is a love story, but as long as I’m still young enough to play it, I’ll play it. Chris will have to wait his turn. [Hemsworth]’s so handsome, and he’s so good. He’s going to have to go find his [own] love story. [But] I’m glad he likes this one. If I reach a moment where I [don’t] think I could do that, I would [reach out]. He’s certainly one of our great leading men right now.”
In the interview, Costner also revealed that he has started writing, and scouting locations for the third and fourth films in his Horizon saga. The trailer of the first film intrigued fans, reminding them of the classic Western vibe of Dancing with Wolves, which Costner directed long ago.
Chapters 1 and 2 of Horizon: An American Saga are scheduled to be theatrically released on June 28, 2024, and August 16, 2024, respectively.
Fans can watch Yellowstone on Paramount+.
