There’s a long history of unusual and downright wild contract stipulations in Hollywood. On the unusual side, when Jack Nicholson signed on to play “The Joker” in 1989’s “Batman” he not only negotiated a huge back-end deal that ensured the box office hit likely never made Warner Bros. any money, but he was also afforded time off to watch Lakers games and given top billing over Batman himself, Michael Keaton. On the wilder side, alt-comedy legend Andy Kaufman agreed to appear in a recurring capacity on “Taxi,” but only if his alter ego — sorry, “friend” — Tony Clifton could appear in an episode.
Leaving actors aside, director Rian Johnson claimed back in 2020 that Apple would not allow villains to use iPhones in movies or TV shows — something the company has never confirmed, though its Guidelines for Using Apple Trademarks and Copyrights states that Apple products can be used so long as they are “shown only in the best light, in a manner or context that reflects favorably on the Apple products and on Apple Inc.”
Now, we can think of Kevin Costner as the iPhone of actors. That is to say the Hollywood vet reportedly negotiated a clause in his contract that restricts the way his character, John Dutton, can be used on “Yellowstone.” But this is a very specific restriction, designed to, in Apple parlance, only show Dutton “in a manner or context that reflects favorably” on Costner and the character himself.
Kevin Costner’s moral death clause for Yellowstone
“Yellowstone” has been going through a protracted controversy of late. The massively popular Paramount series was riding high with the first part of its fifth season, which debuted all the way back in November 2022. But “Yellowstone” soon became a victim of the 2023 Hollywood strikes, during which time star Kevin Costner exited the series. The reasons for his departure were diffuse and confusing, with Costner claiming he wanted time to shoot the first film in his “Horizon” saga, while series creator Taylor Sheridan maintained that Costner’s passion project was part of the reason the second half of season five was taking so long to materialize.
During this whole debacle, Costner expanded on his “Yellowstone” exit, claiming that he may have to “go to court” over it, and accused Sheridan of being spread too thin across the various “Yellowstone” spin-offs — all of which means that the actor will not be appearing in the long-awaited season 5B of “Yellowstone.” Just how Sheridan plans to write the star out of the show remains unclear, however, while Costner remains very much invested in his “Horizon” saga, even as the first movie failed spectacularly at the box office.
Whichever way the series creator chooses to handle Costner’s exit, it seems that if John Dutton is to be killed off, it will only be in the most ceremonious, graceful way possible. That’s because, according to a 2023 report from Puck News, Costner negotiated a “moral death” clause into his “Yellowstone” deal that lists the ways Dutton can and can’t meet his demise.
What is a ‘moral death’ clause anyway?
Puck News claimed that Kevin Costner managed to wangle his “moral death” provision during a previous renegotiation of his “Yellowstone” deal. The outlet rep orted that “deaths that would cause shame or embarrassment to John Dutton — and, implicitly, to Costner and his family” are prohibited under the stipulation.
If the report is accurate, that’s a fairly rare thing to hear about. Back in 2022, Jamie Lee Curtis confirmed that during production of 1998’s “Halloween: H20,” there was a stipulation “from on high that the movie couldn’t end with Michael Meyers’ death.” But that relates specifically to a character and was dictated by the studio, not an actor. A better example is the “No Lose” clause that has been a part of action stars’ contracts for decades and dictates that specific stars can’t lose fights on-screen. Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, and Jason Statham had such a clause in their “Fast and Furious” contracts, and boxer Joe Frazier actually forced “The Simpsons” writers to change a scene in his cameo episode wherein he initially lost a fight to Barney.
But a “moral death” clause isn’t something you hear about as often. According to Puck, several talent lawyers contacted for their insight claimed never to have seen such a thing, and it’s certainly something that sounds like a parody of Hollywood entitlement. That said, this sort of thing is likely more common in the industry than we might think, especially when it comes to big-name stars and their agents wanting to control the narrative and discourse surrounding their career.
Will Yellowstone abide by Kevin Costner’s moral death clause?
Interestingly enough, Kevin Costner’s previous comment about likely having to “go to court” over his “Yellowstone” departure seems not to be in reference to Taylor Sheridan and Paramount transgressing the “moral death” stipulation, and, as Puck noted, likely has more to do with the deal the actor was initially offered to return to “Yellowstone.” According to the outlet, Costner was seeking “the right to review, approve, and potentially veto every Sheridan script” during renegotiations, which was a step too far Paramount. The company had apparently accepted that they couldn’t kill off John Dutton in an unflattering way but giving Costner final say on scripts was too much, and the original deal was reportedly rescinded.
Whether Sheridan does, in fact, write an ignoble death for the Dutton patriarch just to spite his erstwhile star remains to be seen. The future of “Yellowstone” is about as uncertain as it’s ever been, with series mainstays Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser in talks to potentially star in a sixth season of the series. That would mean Costner is unequivocally out, and will likely not be returning in any capacity moving forward.
At this stage, however, nothing has been confirmed on that front. Meanwhile, Sheridan and Paramount have several “Yellowstone” spin-offs to maintain, including an upcoming series entitled “The Madison,” which is set to star Kurt Russell and Michelle Pfeiffer. That show will materialize after “Yellowstone” season 5B finally debuts on November 10, 2024. Considering the fact Paramount went to extreme lengths to prevent plot leaks following Costner’s exit, not even the cast are really sure how the season wraps up, so we’ll have to wait to see whether John Dutton’s departure is handled tastefully or whether Sheridan treats it like that time “South Park” killed off Chef in the most degrading way possible.