Kevin Costner Finally Reveals Why He Left “Yellowstone”

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After Months Of Rumors, Kevin Costner Exposes The Reason Why He Left His Role As John Dutton On Yellowstone

Yellowstone star Kevin Costner has finally revealed the reason why he left the hit series. The revelation came during a recent child support hearing amid his ongoing divorce from Christine Baumgartner.

For months, rumors swirled that Costner was the reason for Yellowstone‘s delay. The show went on a midseason break in January, and has yet to return. Reports claimed Costner hoped to focus on his new Horizon movie series, and therefore wanted to limit his Yellowstone filming schedule.

RELATED: KEVIN COSTNER SAYS HE’S NO LONGER UNDER CONTRACT FOR “YELLOWSTONE”

Even show creator Taylor Sheridan acted stunned about Costner’s decision to leave the series. But he didn’t know exactly why the actor made that choice.

“I’ve never had an issue with Kevin that he and I couldn’t work out on the phone,” Sheirdan said. “But once lawyers get involved, then people don’t get to talk to each other and start saying things that aren’t true and attempt to shift blame…”

Yellowstone Will Not Have A Sixth Season, But A Spin-Off Instead

Likely due to Costner’s departure, Paramount announced Yellowstone will not get a sixth season. The second half of Season 5 will contain the last episodes of the series.

Unfortunately, fans have to wait a long time for those new episodes. They received a November release date at first. But due to the ongoing strikes in Hollywood, filming has not started and production has been delayed indefinitely. The Yellowstone prequel series, 1923, also faces a delay.

While Yellowstone as we know it will end soon, Paramount also confirmed its plans for a Yellowstone spin-off. Fans hope this spin-off will include many of the same characters from the original series.

Concerning the spin-off, Matthew McConaughey has been attached to the project.

Why Did Kevin Costner Leave Yellowstone?

At last, Costner shared the real reason why he left Yellowstone. PEOPLE reported on what he told the court.

Costner confirmed some scheduling conflicts were at play. He said he “changed” his Horizon schedule to film the first episodes for Season 5. “That’s a big deal in this world,” he remarked.

But at the time, Costner stated there were “no scripts written” for the season’s second half. He said “they still hadn’t finished” the first part of the season either.

Disagreement Over Pay Led To His Departure

Costner claimed he was supposed to receive $12 million for each half of Season 5. He also intended to return for a sixth season, but things fell through:

“I couldn’t help them any more,” Costner testified. “We tried to negotiate, they offered me less money than previous seasons, there were issues with the creative…“

The court asked Costner if he will receive a payout for the second half of Yellowstone‘s fifth season. In response, he said, “I will probably go to court over it.”

Costner said he made a final effort to return to the series. He told his representatives, “have them pay me whatever number, we came up with a number.” But in the end, he said Yellowstone “walked away.”

It’s hard to imagine what the Yellowstone universe will be like without Costner leading the charge as John Dutton.