Some of the Fast and Furious muscle men allegedly have it written into their contracts that they’re not allowed to lose a fight. They don’t want to look like — god forbid — a “wimp.” Kevin Costner reportedly has something similar in his Yellowstone contract, except his is a “moral death” clause.
Puck reports that it “lists in general terms the various ways that Costner’s character can and can’t be killed off, including deaths that would cause shame or embarrassment to John Dutton — and, implicitly, to Costner and his family.” It’s Costner’s way of making sure he, not creator Taylor Sheridan, has the most creative control over Yellowstone.
Costner and Sheridan indeed got on a call together in early July to discuss how a return would work. Before the strike, Sheridan had written most of [season] 5B assuming Costner would not be back, but he is said to have been willing to scrap those scripts and re-write them post-strike with a John Dutton arc. But on the call, Costner, while speaking in a friendly tone to Sheridan, unfurled his list of demands: Increased money, reduced shooting schedule, and — here’s the kicker — the right to review, approve, and potentially veto every Sheridan script.
Sheridan did not take kindly to this demand (nor should he, considering how popular Yellowstone is). Now, following some legal ugliness, “Costner and his team believe that Sheridan’s planned kiss-off for John Dutton might violate that ‘moral death’ clause” as an act of revenge. It’s increasingly unlikely that Costner will be back for the final season of the most-watched scripted series on TV. But don’t worry, there’s 300 more Sheridan shows to come.
(Via Puck)
