When it was announced that Yellowstone would conclude with its fifth season, many reports emerged stressing this was a result of an alleged feud between Kevin Costner and Taylor Sheridan. Moreover, considering that Costner has kickstarted his own film series with Horizon: An American Saga, some speculated his commitment to the Western epic might’ve contributed to its ending.

But earlier this month, the actor finally cleared the air surrounding the Yellowstone drama, even stating that he initially signed in for seven seasons of Sheridan’s western drama.

Kevin Costner Initially Signed in for Seven Seasons of Yellowstone

Before delving into his passion project, Kevin Costner initially had signed for seven seasons of Yellowstone. As a result, he scheduled the filming of his Western epic in the gaps between. But things went haywire after another negotiation took place between the actor and the studio execs. And this time, instead of the planned seasons 5,6 and 7, studios insisted on “5A and 5B” and maybe a season six down the line.

As a result, despite prioritizing the Taylor Sheridan-led show over his project, the shifting in the plans conflicted with the filming of the JFK star’s passion project Horizon: An American Saga.

He told Deadline:

Well, I haven’t felt good about it the last year, what with the way they’ve talked about it. It wasn’t truthful. So now I’m talking about a little bit about what the real truth of it was. 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.

This isn’t the first time the Waterworld star touched on the matter, as the actor previously shared he would’ve loved to stick to playing John Dutton for more seasons.

Yellowstone Finale Will Not Disappoint Fans Assured Ian Bohen

Despite production issues and the exit of the main lead, it seems Yellowstone might still end things on a high note with the second half of season 5. Ian Bohen, who plays Ryan Bingham in the show, stressed the wait for the second half will be worth it, and even went as far as to claim that this might be “the best series finale in history”.

He told THR:

I don’t know that any show has finished this strongly ever. We’re expecting to have the best series finale in history. Overconfident maybe, but I think that’s what it’s going to be. We thank everyone for their patience… It’ll be worth the wait, I promise

While it’s a shame that we were robbed of more seasons of Costner as the Dutton patriarch, with Horizon: An American Saga kickstarting a new film series, fans will hope Costner hits big with it