Kevin Costner Knew Exactly How ‘Yellowstone’ Should’ve Ended That Taylor Sheridan Never Allowed

Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone would have been the Game of Thrones of this decade if he had listened to Kevin Costner’s idea for the ending.

Kevin Costner is currently struggling with his Western epic saga Horizon as it runs into financial challenges. The actor-director left his hit Paramount series Yellowstone after a bitter feud with the studio and creator Taylor Sheridan over scheduling issues and proceeded to work on the self-financed four-part movie.

Sheridan’s Yellowstone had its final season without its lead character, who was killed off in the season 5B premiere. The finale was controversial among fans as the absence of Costner’s John Dutton was largely felt, and everything seemed to tie up well without much consequence. However, Costner reportedly had a different ending in mind.

Kevin Costner wanted the Dutton family to face the music in the Yellowstone ending

Kevin Costner in Horizon: An American Saga | Credits: New Line Cinema

Kevin Costner is no stranger to Westerns. In fact, he won the Oscar for his directorial debut, Dances with Wolves, and that was a Western, and he went on to make Wyatt Earp and Open Range, among others, which were also successes in the genre. So, he turned out to be the best choice to lead Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone.

For four and a half seasons, Costner played the Dutton family patriarch and Yellowstone ranch head John Dutton in the show, which centered on the clash between the owners of the ranch and lawyers from the West, as well as the Reservation on the same land. It was a soap opera with a dramatic treatment.

The cast of Yellowstone | Credits: Paramount

The series ended with the members of the Dutton family splitting and the ranch being saved from going into the wrong hands, with only Wes Bentley’s Jamie (and, of course, John Dutton) dying.

However, Kevin Costner reportedly had a different ending in mind before his premature departure from Yellowstone. He said (via Entertainment Tonight),

It’s modern-day ranching. Yellowstone was able to capture that so beautifully. I mean, it’s a bit of a soap opera. We should all be in prison.

Yellowstone is a soap opera at its heart, and the Dutton family facing the music for their illegal actions would not have given the dramatic high that a show of that genre usually demands. And, there is no way Taylor Sheridan would have allowed such an ending.

Taylor Sheridan defended unceremoniously killing off Kevin Costner’s John Dutton in Yellowstone

Taylor Sheridan in Yellowstone | Credits: Paramount

The feud between Taylor Sheridan and Kevin Costner behind the scenes of Yellowstone is as sensational as the show itself. Beef over scheduling issues and several delays led Kevin Costner to leave the show before its final season (5B), leading creator Sheridan to kill him off in the season 5B premiere. Costner concentrated on his Horizon movies instead.

John Dutton’s death is presented as a s*icide before it is revealed that it was staged. Still, for fans, it seemed like a random and infuriating end to an iconic character, who deserved a more dramatic departure. However, the reaction was exactly what Taylor Sheridan intended. He said (via THR),

There is something terrifying about people breaking into your home and putting you in a chokehold, and then murdering you and framing it as suicide. There’s no way that could resonate unless you saw it…to have created this character who is so bold and brave and noble and strong, that the violation of that person being taken off guard when they thought they were safe and experiencing this horrible death, it’s supposed to be infuriating.

The series finale was divisive, but there seems to be more to look forward to in the franchise, as other spinoff shows are in development.

Yellowstone is now available to stream on Paramount+ (USA).