It’s currently the wild wild west out there when it comes to Yellowstone news. Western genre enthusiasts strongly feel Yellowstone is one of the best TV series on air, but on May 5, news broke that Kevin Costner is leaving John Dutton behind.
As for why Kevin Costner is leaving Yellowstone, among the unverified reasons are that he’s focusing on his new movie Horizon, had a difficult working relationship with showrunner Taylor Sheridan, and wanted to cut down his Yellowstone workload.
As the lead of the Yellowstone cast, Costner’s exit is a rupture for the series. And there are a few wrinkles to this story, as Paramount has been tight-lipped while fielding questions about it for months. Well, another has just been added.
Unconfirmed by the studio, Puck News reports that Costner is digging his heels in before commencing any further filming to avoid a Shonda Rhimes and Patrick Dempsey Grey’s Anatomy situation.
For the uninitiated, Dempsey’s ‘McDreamy’ Grey’s Anatomy character was killed off in a brutal car accident around the time he and Rhimes were rumoured to be at odds on set. Die-hard fans of the drama series know Rhimes has a reputation, seemingly confirmed by cast interviews, for axing actors who are perceived to be troublemakers.
The gist of this Costner situation, then, is that he doesn’t want to agree to begin shooting until he knows how Dutton will be written off.
For more cowboy drama, find out if Yellowstone has been cancelled, when will Yellowstone season 5 return, or switch horses and check out our best movies of all time list.