Kevin Costner on ‘Yellowstone’.Photo:Paramount
Paramount
Kevin Costneris shedding light on his decision to depart fromYellowstone.
The 68-year-old actor testified Friday duringa child support hearingin Santa Barbara, California amid his ongoing divorce from estranged wifeChristine Baumgartner. While on the stand, he shared that a “long, hard-fought negotiation” about splitting season 5 into two parts was behind his decision toleave the Paramount Network series.
Costner said he needed to focus on his own Western epic, the four-part movie seriesHorizon: An American Sagawhich didn’t work with filmingYellowstonetwice a year. Costner said he “changed” his schedule to shoot the first part of season 5, adding, “That’s a big deal in this world.”
Kevin Costner on ‘Yellowstone’.Paramount Network
Paramount Network
He noted there were “no scripts written” for the second part of season 5 and “they still hadn’t finished” the first part of the season at the time. They decided to do “pay or play” which didn’t work and he was set to receive $12 million for each part of season 5.
Costner testified that he wanted to return for the sixth season of the Western series but “I couldn’t help them any more. We tried to negotiate, they offered me less money than previous seasons, there were issues with the creative…”
Before ultimately walking away, the actor said he made one last effort to come back and told his representatives “have them pay me whatever number, we came up with a number, and they [Yellowstone] walked away.” He said on the stand he believed that number was $12 million.
Luke Grimes as Kayce Dutton and Kevin Costner as John Dutton on ‘Yellowstone’.Paramount/Kobal/Shutterstock
Paramount/Kobal/Shutterstock
When asked if he will receive a payout from the second part ofYellowstoneseason 5, he responded, “I will probably go to court over it.”
Paramount did not immediately return PEOPLE’s request for comment.
In May,Paramount Network confirmedYellowstonewould endafter the second half of season 5 (which was slated to debut in November but is contingent upon the as-yet-unresolvedWriters Guild strike). There were talks to bring Costner back to film scenes tobring John’s storyline to an end, according toThe Hollywood Reporter.
Despitespeculation about tension behind the scenes, Sheridan maintained his praise for Costner’s work on the series. “His creation of John Dutton is symbolic and powerful … and I’ve never had an issue with Kevin that he and I couldn’t work out on the phone,” the Oscar-nominatedHell or High Waterwriter explained.
Taylor Sheridan and Kevin Costner attend the premiere of ‘Yellowstone’ at Paramount Studios on June 11, 2018.Presley Ann/Getty
Presley Ann/Getty
He also noted toTHRthat Costner “took a lot of this on the chin and I don’t know that anyone deserves it,” referencing the reported friction. “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.”
In February,Deadlinereported that Paramount Network was in talks withMcConaughey to lead aYellowstonespinoffwhile Costner was looking to reduce hisYellowstoneschedule to work onHorizon. Paramount Network laterconfirmedYellowstonewould end, and that it ordered a spinoff series for the Paramount+ streaming platform. (Paramount+ is home to its various prequel series, including,1883and1923, and will presumably stream the forthcoming6666spinoff that’s currently in development.)
The ending ofYellowstonewas announced days after Costner’s estranged wife Baumgartner filed fordivorce after 18 years of marriage. In court documents filed in the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Barbara Friday, Christine, 49, said she"did not pressure" Costner to leaveYellowstonebefore the split.
“I have avoided being public about the reasons for our divorce. I have done this to protect our family’s privacy. I did not pressure Kevin to leave theYellowstoneshow,” Christine wrote in the document.
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Yellowstone’s first four seasons and the first half of season 5 are streaming now on Peacock.
source: people.com
