‘Yellowstone’ Kevin Costner Gives Stipulation For His Return
Is Kevin Costner ready to go back to work? Not officially, yet. In what is proving to be the final Yellowstone showdown, Costner won’t return to the Paramount series until he sees Taylor Sheridan’s script and knows what will happen to John Dutton. Why is this so important to the Field Of Dreams star?
Why Kevin Costner Won’t Return To Yellowstone Until He Knows What Happens To His Character
Yellowstone fans have been waiting months for Paramount to air the remainder of Season 5. However, those final six episodes have not been filmed. Now, they are set to start filming in August. Will Kevin Costner be back as John Dutton?
According to Puck News, Kevin Costner is reportedly still not ready to start filming the remainder of those episodes. However, there is one caveat. He needs to see the scripts for these final episodes before he agrees to return to the set.
The report is that the “savvy” Bull Durham star wants to prevent his character from suffering a fate similar to McDreamy’s in Grey’s Anatomy. Patrick Dempsey’s exit from the Shonda Rhimes series is considered one of the most insulting ever.
In addition, Kevin has already spoken about the end of Yellowstone. Last September, when Kevin spoke to Extra, he shared that he doesn’t want John Dutton to die. “There’s just too much to do, but in terms of this story, I don’t know where that’s gonna go. You know, I haven’t really thought about that. Everybody dies, but it’s how you live.”
He also shared that he didn’t know when and how the series would end. He just cared that it all made sense.
Kevin Costner Not Told Yellowstone Was Ending
Last week, two major parts of Kevin Costner’s world ended. First, his wife of nearly two decades, Christine Baumgartner, filed for divorce, “blindsiding” him. Next, Paramount announced that Yellowstone was ending with Season 5. However, they did not bother to let their star know this before the public announcement.
This sounds like the rift between Costner and Taylor Sheridan is still as wide as it was reported back in February. Back then, there were reports that he was only available for about a week. Paramount and Taylor Sheridan’s insiders were frustrated that they had six episodes and very little time to film Costner.
Now, insiders say that they are still trying to negotiate how much time he is available to film. Costner’s side says one to three weeks, leaning towards the lesser amount. On the other hand, the Paramount side wants him to be available to film for 30-45 days.
Either way, they could be in trouble when it comes time to film the remaining episodes. That is because this uncertainty during this time of the strike could complicate the announced schedule.
Kevin Costner won’t return to Yellowstone until he’s comfortable with how John Dutton is written out of the franchise. https://t.co/jeftgMzQ99
— Matthew Belloni (@MattBelloni) May 8, 2023
Could Writer’s Strike Complicate Yellowstone Filming?
Paramount has made it clear what their plan is. They will start production in August and premiere Yellowstone Season 5, Part 2 in November. But, there is currently a writer’s strike happening.
According to this latest report, Taylor Sheridan and his team wrote the scripts for the final six episodes with some “flexibility.” This was due to the uncertainty around Kevin Costner’s return. However, there is now a Hollywood writer’s strike. There are rules about scripts during a strike. Those scripts written before the strike can be used but must be followed word-for-word.
Therefore, should the WGA strike still be happening when production starts in August, and even if Costner does not demand any changes, they have to follow that script to a T. This may certainly compromise Taylor Sheridan’s story.
On the other hand, should Kevin Costner demand that they change the story and John Dutton’s fate, those changes in the script will have to be done after the strike is resolved. That could potentially mean that the August filming would be delayed, as well as the announced November premiere.
This is a complicated and frustrating story for those fans who deserve to get a great series ending.
Do you think that Kevin Costner should be allowed to influence what happens to John Dutton in Yellowstone?
