Dads everywhere are devastated as ET is reporting that Kevin Costner will leave behemoth hit TV show Yellowstone after season five. This comes after months of speculation and rumors that Costner and series creator and showrunner Taylor Sheridan have fallen out.
The fifth season is currently mid-production (and now probably stalled due to the writers’ strike). This seems in line with Matthew McConaughey’s accidental confirmation that he’s starring in a Yellowstone spin-off yet to be named, which came via his appearance on Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast, since the rumor for months has been that McConaughey would, in some fashion, replace Costner in the Yellowstone TV universe.
At the heart of the conflict is Costner’s passion project, a four-part film series called Horizon. The first film in the series shot last year, the second film just started production in April. Costner is starring in it, he is also directing, producing, and co-writing it (hopefully that last part is all done, or he might not be able to start part three until the strike ends).
This is a major undertaking for Costner, but it’s not like Yellowstone is a small commitment, either. This drama has been going on for the last month, at the beginning of April the cast were last-minute cancellations at television festival Paleyfest, citing “scheduling conflicts”. Costner’s undoubtedly, since he was getting Horizon 2 into gear at the same time. It’s strange he was able to launch an entire-ass feature film while technically still mid-production on Yellowstone, that suggests to me his contract is much looser than most actors’ contracts would be, which is probably part of how they lured him to do the show in the first place.
In other Costner news, his wife of eighteen years, Christine Baumgartner, filed for divorce. Costner’s rep released a statement to PEOPLE: “It is with great sadness that circumstances beyond his control have transpired which have resulted in Mr. Costner having to participate in a dissolution of marriage action.”
So it wasn’t his idea. Got it. “Sources” are also claiming he did not cheat, which is not the strong defense “sources” think it is. He might be ramrodding the situation on Yellowstone, to put it in ranching terms, but Christine got the last word on their marriage. Good for her.
