Kevin Costner Reveals the "Real Truth" Behind 'Yellowstone' Drama

Kevin Costner, star of the hit series 'Yellowstone,' breaks his silence on the ongoing controversy surrounding the show's future, addressing rumors of production delays, script issues, and his own commitment to the project.

For over a year, Kevin Costner has been at the center of speculation and controversy regarding the future of "Yellowstone." Now, the actor has spoken out, sharing his perspective on the events that led to the show's delay and addressing the rumors that have circulated.

In an exclusive interview with Deadline, Costner, who plays patriarch John Dutton III in the series, revealed that he has always fulfilled his contractual obligations and never missed a day of work. Despite rumors alleging that he only wanted to work for one week to film the remaining episodes of season 5, Costner emphasized that he left his own movie to accommodate the show's production schedule.

"I left my movie ['Horizon'] to be on time for them for 5B," Costner said. "I left exactly when they wanted, and it made it hard on me. It turns out they didn’t have the scripts for 5B. They needed four more days just to complete the first eight episodes. I left early to give them what they needed to have a complete eight, and I felt bad that the audience didn’t get 10. They didn’t have the scripts for anything else."

Costner expressed frustration over the lack of communication and support from the production team, stating that they remained silent while rumors about his unwillingness to work spread.

"They were silent and that bothered me in the world of how you do things," he confessed. "Why don’t you stick up for me? I went and sold this thing for you. I was going to only do one season. I made it for three. I fulfilled three. So, I went from one to three, then I did a fourth one for them, and they wanted to do three more. So, I made the contract to do that. They imploded. I had a contract to do five, six and seven. I was contracted to do that. There’s nothing I could have done to get out of that, nor was I trying to just figure out how, when we started."

Costner also addressed the various "Yellowstone" spinoffs, suggesting that the production team's focus on these projects may have contributed to the delays.

"They wrote these other three shows," he said, referring to the spinoffs. "They don’t ever talk about that. And all they did was remember we were releasing the series in June, then it moved to October. They covered by changing their release pattern. That time was about a 14-month period. I said, ‘I can’t ever go through that again, where you shut down for over a year and I don’t have something in line to do.’ All I did was protect myself, but I didn’t put myself in first position, over ‘Yellowstone.’ I filled the gaps. Do you see that?"

Despite the ongoing drama, Costner remains open to the possibility of returning for the final season of "Yellowstone."

"I’m very open to coming back," he said. "If they’ve got so many other things going on, maybe this circles back and it’s a really cool two seasons. Or end it, if the writing’s there and I’m happy with it. I’m open to that. But I took a beating over these guys not speaking up for me and allowing crazy stories to come out."

"I’m not happy about that," he admitted. "But if the writing is there, I will be there too. They had first position. I didn’t do 'Horizon' because I was tired of doing ‘Yellowstone.’ That’s a bulls--- story. I didn’t do ‘Horizon’ to compete with ‘Yellowstone.’ This is something I’ve had a long time."

Ultimately, Costner's return to "Yellowstone" hinges on the quality of the writing and the show's future direction.