Rumors have swirled around the future of Yellowstone ever since it became clear that star Kevin Costner would be leaving the Paramount series sooner than planned. In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, series creator Taylor Sheridan opened up for the first time about the situation.

"I'm disappointed," Sheridan told the outlet. "It truncates the closure of his character. It doesn't alter it, but it truncates it."

Sheridan downplayed the idea that he and Costner had any major interpersonal conflict. Costner's exit, he asserted, is in service to the actor's own Western epic, a four-part film series called Horizon.

"I've never had an issue with Kevin that he and I couldn't work out on the phone," Sheridan said. "But once lawyers get involved, then people don't get to talk to each other and start saying things that aren't true and attempt to shift blame based on how the press or public seem to be reacting. He took a lot of this on the chin and I don't know that anyone deserves it. His movie seems to be a great priority to him and he wants to shift focus. I sure hope [the movie is] worth it — and that it's a good one."

Since Yellowstone became one of the most popular shows on TV, Sheridan has launched several prequel shows (including 1883 and 1923) and there are plans in development for a follow-up to the flagship series that could star Matthew McConaughey.

"He seems like a natural fit," Sheridan said of McConaughey. "We had a few conversations over the years, and spitballed a few ideas. Then he started watching Yellowstone and responded to it. He was like, 'I want to do that.' And by 'that' he meant diving into a raw world clashing up against the modern world. And then I said, 'Buddy, that we can do.'"

Unfortunately for fans of characters like Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) and her brother Jamie (Wes Bentley), Sheridan added that the McConaughey-led series may likely end up as a standalone story. But he also noted that he only has "the broadest strokes" worked out so far.

The first portion of Yellowstone's final season scored 17 million viewers following its November 13, 2022 premiere. The second portion of the season is currently set for a November release, though that's looking increasingly unlikely due to the writers' strike. It might, however, run longer than the six episodes that have been previously reported.

"If I think it takes 10 episodes to wrap it up, they'll give me 10," Sheridan told THR. "It'll be as long as it needs to be."

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