Yellowstone: Kevin Costner Reveals There Were Plans for Seasons 6 & 7 Before Talks Failed

Back in May, it was announced that Paramount Network's hit series Yellowstone would end with Season 5, the announcement coming on the heels of news that series star Kevin Costner will depart the series at the end of the same season. Now, however, Costner is revealing that there were negotiations for Seasons 6 and 7 — and that he may end up going to court over how things ultimately went down. According to Deadline, Costner made the revelation during testimony in his ongoing divorce case on Friday when he was asked by estranged wife Christine Baumgartner's counsel if he had been offered Season 6 of Yellowstone.

In his response, Costner explained that there were negotiations for further seasons of Yellowstone and that he had been offered $24 million to do Seasons 5, 6 and 7. However, Costner went on to explain that there were "issues about creative" and that his talks with series creator Taylor Sheridan and the series' producers were him trying to "break the logjam" but they — not he — walked away. Costner indicated that he will "probably go to court" over his departure from the series.

Costner also elaborated a bit on the scheduling issues for Yellowstone that had been cited as an issue in terms of his disagreements with producers. It had previously been widely reported that the big sticking point between Sheridan and Costner was the show's shooting schedule and Costner seemed to confirm that, noting that a shift in how the show was being shot was causing issues with Costner's film, Horizon.

"Somewhere along the line, they wanted to change things," Costner said. "They wanted to do 5A and 5B; [it] affected Horizon. I was going to do my movie Horizon and leave that show, do my movie, then do B. A show I was only doing once a year I was now doing twice."

Costner Has Previously Confirmed That He is No Longer Under Contract for Yellowstone

In July, Costner confirmed in court documents that he is no longer under contract for Yellowstone and, as such, was not expecting income from his work on the series, other than "back-end contractual participation rights."

"I will earn substantially less in 2023 than I did in 2022. This is because I am no longer under contract for Yellowstone, the principal source of my income last year," the document read. "Now, any compensation I earn from Yellowstone will derive only from my back-end contractual participation rights, which amounts are not fixed."

"The most recent report from the producer for Yellowstone shows I am not now owed any participation money," the statement continued."

What's Going on With Season 5 of Yellowstone?

Currently, Season 5 of Yellowstone is not yet complete. The back half of the season was initially announced to air sometime this summer, but production on new episodes has not yet started. However, series star Luke Grimes, who plays Kayce Dutton, previously said that fans can expect the remaining episodes to focus on many of the series' core themes of love and family.

"Love and family and serve your tribe, your people — that's a huge theme in the show," Grimes said. "With Kayce, he has a hard time choosing his relationship with his father versus his relationship with his wife and son. I think it's because it all really matters and it matters to all of the characters."

He went on to explain that it's within those themes where all the "juicy drama" is.

"That's sort of where you get all of this really juicy drama, is that everyone is sort of fighting for their team," he said. "There's no right team or wrong team, it's just a bunch of people trying to figure out how to do what's best for their own."

Yellowstone Creator Taylor Sheridan Says Kevin Costner's Exit "Truncates" John Dutton's Ending

Series creator Taylor Sheridan has previously said that the actor's general exit from the series doesn't change John Dutton's arc, though it does shorten things.

Sheridan explained that while he's disappointed with how things have worked out, the closure of the John Dutton character is unchanged — and it's not going to behind-the-scenes tension fueled "f-ck you car crash" sort of ending, either.

"I'm disappointed," Sheridan said. "It truncates the closure of his character. It doesn't alter it, but it truncates it."

He continued, "I don't do f-ck you car crashes. Whether [Dutton's] fate inflates [Costner's] ego or insults is collateral damage that I don't factor in with regard to storytelling."

He also said that his opinion of Costner as an actor hasn't changed — and he hopes that Costner's movie, Horizon, is both worthwhile and good.

"My opinion of Kevin as an actor hasn't altered," Sheridan said. "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. 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 based on how the press or public seem to be reacting. He took a lot of this on the chin and I don't know that anyone deserves it. 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."

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