Kevin Costner may still have a complicated relationship with Yellowstone and its creators, but that's not to say he has cut ties with them completely.
The Horizon: An American Saga director and actor first became John Dutton when the hit Paramount show premiered in 2018, however it has now been a year and a half since fans last saw new episodes of the Western, when the first part of the oversized fifth season, now set to be the last, concluded with a seventh episode.
Ever since, efforts to film and release the second part – which had a summer and then fall 2023 premiere date, neither of which happened – have been marred by production delays, just as the Dances with Wolves director has been marred with rumors that he was responsible for them.
Back in May, Kevin addressed the behind-the-scenes drama — and maintained that his forthcoming, self-funded passion project Horizon has nothing to do with it — in a candid interview with Deadline, and now he's offered another update on his possible return as John Dutton, and his relationship with creator Taylor Sheridan.
During an appearance on the Today Show on Monday, June 17, speaking with Savannah Guthrie, he shared: "I've supported that thing and I've loved it," maintaining: "It's been really important to me."
He also added: "I would love to go back under the right circumstances I think that all of us want," emphasizing: "For me, it really needs to be the right circumstances."
"Saying there's a chance, there's always a chance," he reinforced, and noted: "I love the thing. You've got to be really clear about that."
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In speaking with Deadline, Kevin didn't hold back when addressing his complicated feelings about how the Yellowstone situation unfolded. "I haven't felt good about it the last year, what with the way they've talked about it. It wasn't truthful," he started, before clarifying: "I made a contract for seasons five, six and seven. In February, after a two- or three-month negotiation, they made another contract. They wanted to redo that one, and instead of seasons six and seven, it was 5A and 5B, and maybe we'll do six. They weren't able to make those. Horizon was set in the middle, but Yellowstone was first position. I fit [Horizon] into the gaps. They just kept moving their gaps."
"What I'm telling you is straight up," he maintained, adding that he took "a beating from those [expletive] guys" over the team "not speaking up for me and allowing crazy stories to come out," and that: "I'm not happy about that."
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"If you know me well enough, I made Yellowstone the first priority, and to insinuate anything else would be wrong. I did not initiate any of those things. They did. They were doing a tap dance… I don't know why they didn't stick up for me."
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As for juggling his role on Yellowstone and his wishes to continue working on Horizon, he shared: "I left my movie to be on time for them for 5B. I left exactly when they wanted, and it made it hard on me," before revealing that "they didn't have the scripts for 5B."
"I've never missed a day of work. I've never left before fulfilling my contractual obligations. A lot of times, I stay as much as I can."