Kevin Costner’s Yellowstone Feud With Taylor Sheridan Was Predicted by Val Kilmer’s Best Role 32 Years Back

Kevin Costner’s Yellowstone Exit Echoes a Feud Foreshadowed by Val Kilmer’s Greatest Role

Kevin Costner’s exit from Yellowstone after five seasons wasn’t just a scheduling conflict or a creative disagreement—it was the culmination of long-simmering tensions, eerily mirrored by a Western showdown that happened decades ago.

Over 30 years back, Val Kilmer’s legendary turn as Doc Holliday in Tombstone may have unknowingly foreshadowed the kind of creative power struggle Costner would later face with Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan. In fact, Costner was originally attached to Tombstone, but clashed with screenwriter Kevin Jarre over the direction of the story. Wanting a more sprawling take on Wyatt Earp’s life, Costner walked away and instead created his own version—Wyatt Earp (1994), directed by Lawrence Kasdan. The result? A slow-paced, three-hour epic that co-star Michael Madsen once harshly described as “a giant close-up of Kevin for three f**king hours.”

By contrast, Kilmer and Kurt Russell’s Tombstone became a cult classic—sharper, tighter, and more focused on iconic moments like the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Behind the scenes, Costner reportedly didn’t just leave the project—he may have actively tried to sabotage it. Rumors swirled that he leaned on studios to avoid distributing Tombstone, scaring off potential stars like Brad Pitt and thwarting director George P. Cosmatos’s original casting dreams of Richard Gere and Willem Dafoe.

Fast-forward to Yellowstone, and history seemed to repeat itself. Costner, a towering figure in the show’s success, reportedly butted heads with Sheridan over creative control and scheduling conflicts due to his ambitious Horizon film project. While the official line blamed timing issues, sources pointed to deeper creative differences, with Costner allegedly wanting more say in the show’s direction.

The fallout? Costner’s character, John Dutton, was unceremoniously killed off-screen—reportedly by suicide—leaving fans confused and frustrated. Costner’s own reaction was frosty:

“I heard it’s a suicide, so that doesn’t make me want to rush to go see it.”

Sheridan, for his part, remained respectful yet firm, saying:

“My opinion of Kevin as an actor hasn’t altered… But once lawyers get involved, people don’t get to talk… It truncates the closure of his character.”

“I don’t do ‘f–k you car crashes.’ Whether [Dutton’s fate] inflates [Costner’s] ego or insults is collateral damage.”

It’s a brutal ending for a character—and an actor—who carried the show on his shoulders. But perhaps it was inevitable. Costner’s intense dedication to his roles, while admirable, has often led to friction. His legacy as a Western icon is unquestionable, but his desire for control has sometimes left a trail of scorched earth.

Was this just another example of history repeating itself? Did Val Kilmer’s Doc Holliday subtly foreshadow the very kind of ego-fueled standoff that would someday define Yellowstone’s downfall?

Either way, the question remains: Was Costner’s exit a necessary decision—or a self-inflicted wound?