Kevin Costner’s Explosive, Near-Physical Yellowstone Fight Detailed In New Report md20

A new report details the explosive incident that Kevin Costner allegedly had, which led to Yellowstone getting shut down. The hit Western drama is moving forward after Costner’s exit and the death of John Dutton. There will be a spinoff focused on Luke Grimes as Kayce Dutton, which is headed for CBS, in addition to the continuing story of Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) and Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser) for Paramount+.

Most of the reporting around Costner’s acrimonious departure from Yellowstone focused on his clashes with franchise creator Taylor Sheridan over scheduling and script changes. It was noted at the time that Costner wanted to rearrange the time he spent on the popular television series in order to direct the Horizon film franchise.

But a new, wide-ranging feature on the two-time Oscar winner details Costner’s tense clash with a frequent scene partner, as the Hollywood Reporter pulls back the curtain on an incident that Costner had with Wes Bentley, who played Jamie Dutton. It’s mentioned that Costner, the lead star and executive producer of Yellowstone, pushed Bentley to “ditch” Sheridan’s script and play the scene differently.

Bentley pushed back on Costner in turn, saying that he was signed up for a “Taylor Sheridan show, not a Kevin Costner production.” According to a source who was present, Costner didn’t like that response and proceeded to “lunge” at Bentley. Although no punches were thrown, the two actors pushed and shoved each other until they had to be separated. Reilly was in tears, according to a witness, and production had to be briefly shut down.

A representative for Costner declined to comment. However, a rep for Bentley confirmed the incident and called it a “work-related argument during an emotional and physically tough scene,” adding that it was “discussed and resolved.” The feature goes on to note that Sheridan and Costner began to “butt heads” from that point on.

The newly unveiled dustup comes in the context of looking back at Costner’s career and then looking at what might be his next chapter after the controversial Yellowstone exit and the box office bomb that dashed Costner’s hopes of directing a Horizon franchise.

The first film cost $50 million to produce, and significantly more by some estimates, with the Oscar winner putting in some of his own money. It grossed only $38.8 million at the global box office. Horizon has also been mired in lawsuits, with a legal back-and-forth that is still pending on multiple fronts.

The deep dive into the Field of Dreams actor could explain why there was a split reaction to Costner’s exit. John Dutton was crucial to the Yellowstone characters, with his shadow looming long after the character’s death was revealed. Whether or not the on-set environment influenced what occurred on-camera, his departure marked the decision to end the main series and move its main trio to spinoffs.

But as Costner plots his next moves, which include a Western for Prime Video and a comedy movie with Jake Gyllenhaal, it’s underlined that the veteran performer has bounced back from career setbacks before. For the time being, what’s most obvious is that it was the right call for Yellowstone to shift away from Costner. The story might have suffered in the moment. But on the whole, both sides are better off going their separate ways.