Kevin Costner’s Yellowstone Exit Drama Could Happen Again On A Different Taylor Sheridan Show
Kevin Costner will not reprise his role as John Dutton in Yellowstone season 5, and one of Taylor Sheridan's other shows might face the same problem.
SUMMARY
- Kevin Costner’s exit from Yellowstone raises concerns that Sylvester Stallone may also leave Tulsa King due to the show’s demanding production schedule.
- Unlike Yellowstone, Tulsa King heavily relies on Stallone’s character, and his departure could significantly impact the show’s success.
- Taylor Sheridan has the opportunity to learn from the drama surrounding Costner’s exit and find ways to prevent a similar situation with Stallone in Tulsa King.
Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone will come to an abrupt end when the second half of season 5 premieres in late 2024, and Kevin Costner will have no part in the Paramount television show’s final episodes due to behind-the-scenes drama. Unfortunately, fans of Sheridan’s work have good reason to be worried that one of his other series will experience the same heartbreak. Costner has starred as John Dutton III, the main protagonist, in Yellowstone since its pilot episode, and now, due to scheduling conflicts and disagreements between the actor and producers, Costner will not reprise his role in part two of the neo-Western show’s last season.
The Paramount Network split Yellowstone season 5 into two parts, with part one (consisting of eight episodes) airing from November 2022 to January 2023. Thanks to the drama surrounding Costner’s exit and the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) strikes, production on the second half was delayed, and it will not premiere until almost two years following the part one finale. When Yellowstone season 5, part 2 does air, it will look a lot different because of Costner’s absence, and another Paramount series by Sheridan might follow the same path as Costner in Yellowstone.
Tulsa King Could Repeat History After Kevin Costner’s Yellowstone Exit
Whereas Kevin Costner was the main star of Yellowstone, Sylvester Stallone is the face of Tulsa King on Paramount+, and Stallone may leave the show in the same vein as Costner with Yellowstone. Taylor Sheridan created the crime drama television series, which aired its first season from late 2022 to early 2023 and revolves around Stallone’s Dwight “The General” Manfredi, a Mafia capo who is released from prison and sets up criminal organizations in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The streaming platform renewed Tulsa King for a second season only a couple of weeks following its pilot episode, which Stallone is set to star in, but some signs point toward an early exit for the actor.
Similar to Costner, Stallone has made it known that he has some issues with his show’s grueling schedule. During an interview with Variety in 2022, Stallone admitted:
“[Filming television is] beyond tough. I can’t believe some people have done this for four, five, or six seasons. It’s brutal, compared to filmmaking. I’ll never say, ‘This is a hard shoot’ again on a feature. It’s a vacation compared to this! It really is.”
While discussing creating more seasons of Tulsa King, the actor joked, “Can they shoot it in my home in Palm Beach? That’d be nice. I talked to my wife about it. If she comes along with the kids to the set to visit, perhaps. But it’s a big decision, it really is.” Stallone signed on to film Tulsa King season 2, but based on his comments, it sounds like he won’t be on board for much more after finishing production on the second set of episodes. But only time will tell if Stallone follows the same path as Costner.
Stallone’s Exit Would Be A Bigger Problem For Tulsa King Than Costner & Yellowstone
Of course, Kevin Costner leaving Yellowstone right before the series ends is heartbreaking. But the neo-Western drama series can survive without the actor, whereas Tulsa King would be meaningless without Sylvester Stallone. Yellowstone has a stronger ensemble than Taylor Sheridan’s crime drama show, and it has had five seasons to build its world and characters (aside from John Dutton), so it can stand on its own even without Costner. However, Tulsa King would likely go downhill fast if Stallone left.
If Stallone still feels the same way about making television as he did after production on the first season of the Paramount+ show, he probably won’t be willing to film more episodes following season 2. Despite his character being Tulsa King‘s namesake, it does not appear like Stallone wants to stick around until the end of the series goes past season 2. If the actor chooses to leave, Sheridan would have a big problem on his hands trying to continue Tulsa King sans Stallone because the show doesn’t have ground to stand on without him.
Tulsa King Can Learn From Yellowstone’s Kevin Costner Exit Drama
Thankfully, Taylor Sheridan now has experience with the central actor of one of his television shows leaving before the series ends. So, if Sylvester Stallone steps back and chooses not to return to the crime drama following season 2, Sheridan should know how to combat this problem. The filmmaker can learn from the drama surrounding Kevin Costner’s Yellowstone exit and figure out how to prevent that from happening with Stallone in Tulsa King on Paramount+.
