UPDATE: Months after the news of Yellowstone‘s cancellation, or rather “ending” broke, show runner Taylor Sheridan finally broke his silence on the presumed stalemate with star Kevin Costner. Sadly, he confirmed that Costner is exiting as his attention, at the time, is devoted to his upcoming two-part western Horizon. He noted that this will leave the ending for John Dutton “truncated”, but he remained diplomatic about Costner, telling THR: “He took a lot of this on the chin and I don’t know that anyone deserves it. His movie seems to be a great priority to him and he wants to shift focus. I sure hope [the movie is] worth it — and that it’s a good one.” We may see Horizon before final episodes of Yellowstone, with Costner apparently aiming to show the first instalment of his saga at the Venice Film Festival. No news yet on when (and if) Yellowstone will actually be ending – or how long the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes are going to last.
To hear what Kevin Costner had to say about the situation, click over to USA Today.
ORIGINAL POST:
Whoa, there, cowboy! Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone is coming to an end. According to Deadline‘s shocking report, Yellowstone co-creator and showrunner Taylor Sheridan, Paramount Global, and Paramount Network will end the show in its current form. However, Sheridan plans to develop a potential franchise extension to the Dutton storyline with a new show starring Matthew McConaughey, with more notable names circling the project. Several cast members of the series will trot over to the new series.
“We have no news to report. Kevin Costner is a big part of Yellowstone and we hope that’s the case for a long time to come. Thanks to the brilliant mind of Taylor Sheridan, we are always working on franchise expansions of this incredible world he has built. Matthew McConaughey is a phenomenal talent with whom we’d love to partner,” a Paramount Network spokesperson told Deadline.
Per Deadline, the Yellowstone problem stems from lead Kevin Costner’s disagreements about the shooting schedule. According to reports, Costner agreed to 65 days of filming on Yellowstone and only wanted to shoot for 50 days for the first part of the current season. However, for the second round of episodes, Costner only wanted to shoot for a week. Considering Costner’s significant role as John Dutton, the patriarch of the Dutton family, it’s hard to imagine the show without him. Sheridan is understandably upset by the situation, leading to morale problems on the set. Other stars, including Luke Grimes, Kelly Reilly, Wes Bentley, Cole Hauser, Kelsey Asbille, and Gil Birmingham, are also upset by the predicament.
Instead of haggling with Costner about the details, Paramount Network declined his recent proposal and is looking to move on without him. The new show, which has McConaughey in its sights to star, will premiere on the Paramount Network before appearing on Paramount+. This actually gives Paramount an out as the flagship show currently streams on Peacock in the US due to a pre-existing deal that was made before their in-house streamer took off. Now, their flagship show would stream on Paramount+ as it won’t technically be the original series anymore, but rather a spin-off or sequel series. Plot details for the new series remain a mystery.
Chris McCarthy, President & CEO Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios, told Yahoo Entertainment: “Yellowstone has been the cornerstone on which we have launched an entire universe of global hits — from 1883 to Tulsa King, and I am confident our Yellowstone sequel will be another big hit, thanks to the brilliant creative mind of Taylor Sheridan and our incredible casts who bring these shows to life.“
David Glasser, CEO of 101 Studios (which co-produces the series with Showtime/MTV), added: “The Dutton story continues, picking up where Yellowstone leaves off in another epic tale. We are thrilled to bring this new journey to audiences around the world.“
At the end of the day, Yellowstone could end after the second half of the current season. This situation puts a lot of jobs into question, and Sheridan is scrambling to put the pieces together. John Dutton is the foundation upon which Yellowstone rests, and replacing him requires fancy negotiations or a miracle. I don’t know that Sheridan is ready to make either happen, and the sun could set on Yellowstone before we know it. Thankfully, Sheridan is working on other projects in the Yellowstone universe, so the future is still bright for the brand overall.