As rough as it’s been for Yellowstone wondering if and when the show would ever return to close out on its fifth season, the situation has obviously been all the more hectic for everyone involved with the show. Following months of rumors about star Kevin Costner’s alleged demands about scheduling, the actor’s wife Christine Baumgarten made the stunning move to file for divorce, which was soon followed by the official confirmation that the remaining episodes will film and air later this year, and will serve as Yellowstone’s swan song, making way for a brand new sequel spinoff. The Emmy-winning actor was alleged to be “blindsided” by the divorce news, but an insider close to the now-former couple is claiming there’s a little more to those scheduling rumors that indicate Costner shouldn’t have been surprised at all.
These newer claims tie back to a prior report that centered on the assertion that Christine Baumgartner gave Costner the ultimatum to leave Yellowstone and its lengthy filming schedule behind. According to OK Magazine, the John Dutton portrayer supposedly did lay her demands out there to the western drama’s producers, only to go and derail that goodwill with more Hollywood projects. Here’s how the outlet’s source put it:
Kevin paid her lip service by demanding a more favorable shooting schedule on Yellowstone. But then he threw gasoline on the fire by using that time to focus on his Civil War project.
Allegedly, the whole reason behind Baumgartner wanting Costner to be away from Yellowstone is so that he could play more of an active role in fathering and helping with their three children: Cayden, 15, Hayes, 14, and 12-year-old Grace. So if he did indeed sweet talk co-creator Taylor Sheridan & Co. into working out a more favorable filming schedule, it seems like it was at least initially for a good cause.
But now that the Oscar-winning filmmaker has regained his popularity and footholds in the entertainment industry, it sounds like he wasn’t content to just hang out without some kind of project ot keep him busy. That said, it’s not entirely clear which of Kevin Costner’s upcoming projects was being referred to with “his Civil War project.” Back in October 2022, he revealed he was reteaming with Dances with Wolves co-star Morgan Freeman for the limited series The Grey House, which centers on three women that Ulysses S. Grant credited with helping secure the win for the North during the Civil War. But to date, he’s only known to have taken on an executive producer role in that project.
However, the outlet’s source was likely referring to Costner’s ambitious fourt-part epic currently under the working title of Horizon, with four different films planned and already greenlit for back-to-back productions. He’s purportedly currently filming the second feature in Utah, having wrapped on the first one in late 2022. Without some official news from the studio, though, it’s hard to know exactly what’s happening with that one.
Whatever the case may be, OK Magazine’s source paints Costner as being ego-driven at this state of his life, saying:
He’s worth a quarter of a billion dollars and she had the tiniest engagement ring in Hollywood. He’d think nothing of being away for months at a time on the Yellowstone set — or other projects — if he thought it would cement his status as one of Hollywood’s biggest stars.
Without knowing how legitimate any of the above claims are, we’ll just have to wait and see if the Paramount Network hit western’s return to filming for Season 5 will lead to more disruptions behind the scenes. In the meantime, check out all the other upcoming Yellowstone TV shows while waiting for the first half of Season 5 to hit streaming for those with a Peacock subscription.
