Kevin Costner’s passion project drew him away from the ultra-successful Yellowstone TV show, and he may add insult to injury upon the movie’s release.
Kevin Costner walked away from the highly successful Yellowstone TV show to pursue his passion project, Horizon: An American Saga, and his plan to release the movie seems to be sending a message to the hit series. Kevin Costner’s issues with the creator of Yellowstone, Taylor Sheridan, are well-documented, and there have been many rumors about further background issues for Costner that impacted his willingness to continue working on the show. The compounding issues ultimately led to Costner exiting Yellowstone in the middle of season 5, leaving questions marks with many of the show’s major plot lines.
With Yellowstone’s release on CBS, the show received a surge in popularity as it found a new audience. That extrapolates the impact of Costner’s exit, and makes the timing of his departure hurt the show even worse. As Horizon: An American Saga presses forward and the impending arrival of Yellowstone season 5, part 2 remains unclear, it seems that Costner’s plan for the movie’s release will be the ultimate insult to add to the damage he’s inflicted on Sheridan’s TV show.
Kevin Costner’s Horizon Could Release Before Yellowstone Season 5, Part 2
Horizon: An American Saga is currently slated to release on June 28, 2024, with its sequel (which was shot back-to-back) debuting just two months later. Costner’s movies will certainly dominate the movie and TV news cycle for the summer, especially given the widely-publicized turmoil surrounding his exit from Yellowstone. The release date is the ultimate insult to the people behind Yellowstone, as Costner’s personal project will likely come out before the show resumes, magnifying Costner’s disregard for the Western drama show.
As it stands, the second half of Yellowstone season 5 has not yet begun filming seemingly due to the Hollywood strikes that have consumed the media industry in 2023. While there are still plenty of Dutton stories to wrap up before Yellowstone ends, fans of the show will likely need to wait until the back half of 2024 at the very earliest to see the conclusion of season 5. The popularity of the show and trajectory of the narrative left plenty of room for more seasons, but with Costner’s exit, the show will reportedly end after the current season wraps up.
Why Kevin Costner Prioritized Horizon Over Yellowstone
While issues with Taylor Sheridan likely played a role, the core reason for Costner’s exit seems to be that his interest in Yellowstone waned when the opportunity to finally work on the 35-year-delayed Horizon movies arose. Costner has been vocal about how Horizon: An American Saga is truly about his own personal desire to tell the story at its core, and has nothing to do with money. In fact, Costner reportedly mortgaged one of his own properties to finance the project, while at the same time walking away from a Yellowstone paycheck that came in at over $1 million per episode.
While it’s fair to speculate about Costner’s ultimate reason for leaving the show he spearheaded that helped revitalize Western drama television, it’s easy to see why Yellowstone would come second for an actor of Costner’s caliber and age. At this point in his career, success is not measured by ratings or profit. His passion for quality story-telling combined with the allure of his long-gestating project finally coming to fruition likely made choosing Horizon: An American Saga over Yellowstone an easy decision for the Academy Award winner.