Yellowstone is reportedly losing its star. Kevin Costner will not return to the Paramount Network series if it’s renewed for a sixth season. In addition, the cast has not returned to Montana to film the second half of season five, supposedly due to Costner’s availability, and there’s no scheduled start date yet.
This news comes only days after it was reported that Costner’s wife of 18 years, Christine Costner, had filed for divorce.
Luke Grimes, Kelly Reilly, Wes Bentley, Cole Hauser, Kelsey Asbille, Brecken Merrill, Forrie Smith, Denim Richards, Ian Bohen, Finn Little, Ryan Bingham, Gil Birmingham, Mo Brings Plenty, Wendy Moniz, Jen Landon, and Kathryn Kelly also star in the drama series which follows the Dutton family led by patriarch John Dutton (Costner). The series has been very popular and has inspired several prequel spin-offs focusing on earlier generations of Duttons.
Two months ago, it was reported that Costner had reduced his availability for filming the remaining episodes of season five. This reportedly caused frustration for series creator Taylor Sheridan and has dampened the morale of the other actors. Costner’s attorney denied the allegations.
ET reports that the series’ behind-the-scenes problems became more apparent after Costner, Sheridan, and other cast members were no-shows at a recent PaleyFest panel.
In February, Puck News reporter Matthew Belloni, who broke the story about the Costner dispute, talked about the problems facing the Paramount Network series:
“The way Yellowstone is shot is that Costner comes to the set for a certain period of time,” Belloni said. “And he is taking the position that, for anything outside of his contractually obligated time during shooting, he should be paid extra for it. But in Hollywood, it’s sort of an unwritten rule that you promote your show or your movie when it comes time to do that.”
“According to my sources, Costner makes about $1.2 million per episode for Yellowstone, and that’s in addition to an overall deal that he has which pays him extra money,” Belloni said. “So he makes more than $20 million a season if it goes 16 episodes, as is planned this season.”
“If Yellowstone is picked up for a 6th season, and Costner is on the show for the 6th season, he will get $1.5 million per episode,” Belloni said, citing Costner’s contract and seniority on the show.
“Yellowstone is really in limbo right now until they can figure out whether Costner is coming back or, more likely, whether he’s going to be written out of the show.” Belloni stated. “Once that determination is made, they can finish writing the second half of this season, shoot it, and it will likely air in the fall.”
A present-day spin-off series starring Matthew McConaughey is reportedly in the works.
What do you think? Do you want to see more of Yellowstone? Would you watch it without Kevin Costner as the star?
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