Will Reportedly Toxic Relationship Between Kevin Costner and Taylor Sheridan Doom ‘Yellowstone’?

It appears trying to save your ranch in Montana has nothing on the real-life drama that’s reportedly taking place behind the scenes of Yellowstone.

More specifically, series creator Taylor Sheridan and lead actor Kevin Costner have had a falling out, per multiple reports — with Puck News going as far as suggesting that their relationship has grown toxic, and is essentially over.

Sheridan, of course, has written many things, with Yellowstone being his crowning achievement. But he has also spurned hits such as 1883 and 1923, both Westerns and prequels to the Costner-led hit.

But the drama between Sheridan’s team and Costner’s team has been brewing for months, per Puck News, and it’s even spilled over onto social media.

Last month on Instagram, an associate of Costner posted on Sheridan’s page about Tulsa King, a mobster show starring Sylvester Stallone and co-created by Sheridan.

“Stick to westerns, bro. You don’t know S*** about THIS life,” the post read. “Stay in your lane, country boy. I’m actually embarrassed for you as a writer and creator.” 

The post was later deleted, but only after it was shown to the president of Paramount Networks, as relayed by The Daily Wire.

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As for Costner, there’s been talk that he wanted to shoot six episodes of the ongoing Season 5 in a week — something his team unequivocally denied.

“The idea that Kevin was only willing to work one week on the second half of season five of Yellowstone is an absolute lie,” Costner’s attorney, Marty Singer, told Puck.

“It’s ridiculous — and anyone suggesting it shouldn’t be believed for one second. As everyone who knows anything about Kevin is well aware, he is incredibly passionate about the show and has always gone way above and beyond to ensure its success.”

Season 5 has been expanded from 10 episodes to 16, and there are rumors it will be the final season, as well as the end of Sheridan and Costner. Instead, rumors say, Sheridan will write a spinoff, starring Matthew McConaughey, after he kills off Costner’s John Dutton. None of that has been confirmed … but it hasn’t been denied either.

Anyway, Costner reportedly has asked that his pay per episode be bumped from $1.2 million to $1.5 million. His team also reportedly claimed that filming has taken longer than usual, accusing Sheridan of delivering the scripts late. Sheridan is said to be struggling with wrapping up the show, as the Costner drama may be impacting his writing.

Along with all that, Costner supposedly negotiated short windows of when he was available to film Season 5, contracting COVID during the first window, per Puck. Instead of waiting until he was cleared to return, Costner reportedly said that the window had “expired,” delaying filming for a few months. In turn, Sheridan reportedly was “furious” with Costner. It appears they haven’t patched things up and probably won’t.

“The report said that the underlying issue was Costner’s ‘ego and his unavailability’ which goes with his reputation of being ‘either exacting to a fault or an unjustified pain in the ass,'” wrote Ryan Saavedra of The Daily Wire.

So, what will come after Yellowstone? Perhaps a documentary of the real-life happenings between Sheridan and Costner. After all, it sounds every bit as dramatic and intense as the show itself.

Read More: Filming for Rest of ‘Yellowstone’ Season 5 to Be Delayed