Kevin Costner Gets Honest About 'Yellowstone' Future

Kevin Costner is hitting back at the idea he's the problem with "Yellowstone."

The star actor is the face of the series from Taylor Sheridan, but it appears unlikely he'll return for the final episodes. One of the major problems at the center of the drama was Costner wanting to film "Horizon: An American Saga."

His two-film Western comes out this summer, and there's a lot of buzz around. Alleged scheduling conflicts caused major delays and issues, and now Costner is claiming he wasn't responsible for the issues.

Kevin Costner explains his side of "Yellowstone" drama.

"Well, I haven’t felt good about it the last year, what with the way they’ve talked about it. It wasn’t truthful. So now I’m talking about a little bit about what the real truth of it was. I made a contract for seasons five, six and seven. In February, after a two- or three-month negotiation, they made another contract. They wanted to redo that one, and instead of seasons six and seven, it was 5A and 5B, and maybe we’ll do six. They weren’t able to make those. Horizon was set in the middle, but Yellowstone was first position. I fit [Horizon] into the gaps. They just kept moving their gaps," Costner told Deadline when asked where his status with "Yellowstone" stands.

He further explained, "And listen, I don’t want to get down in the gutter with the Yellowstone thing but what I’m telling you is straight up. I have taken a beating from those f*cking guys and I know a lot of times where it’s coming from. I just elected not to get into that. But if you know me well enough, I made Yellowstone the first priority, and to insinuate anything else would be wrong. I did not initiate any of those things. They did. They were doing a tap dance and this poor guy was also having to write so much. And I don’t know why they didn’t stick up for me."

To be clear, it's not clear if "those f*cking guys" refers to the media or people within Sheridan's camp. Either way, Costner clearly doesn't sound happy.

It also clearly appears Costner is setting the stage to push the narrative it was Sheridan and Paramount Network - not himself - who are responsible for the issues.

If Costner doesn't return for the rest of the fifth and final season, it seems likely this could end up in court. The man who plays John Dutton already hinted at that being a possible conclusion to the nonstop chaos.

The worst part about all this is the people most impacted are the viewers who have poured six years of our lives into the series. There's a very good chance we don't get the ending as originally planned. John Dutton might still die (almost a guarantee), but it won't be the same if it's off-screen. That's by far and away the most frustrating part. Let's hope Sheridan is able to cook up something good with or without Costner because viewers deserve it. Let me know your thoughts at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.