'Yellowstone' Conspiracy Theory Goes Viral, Makes Serious Allegation

A "Yellowstone" conspiracy theory has people talking.

Taylor Sheridan's epic and all-time great Western saga ended in December 2024, and opinions are all over the place. People either hated the ending or loved it. I liked it.

You can read my full breakdown and review here.

"Yellowstone" conspiracy theory goes viral.

One of the biggest parts about the final six episodes was the fact Kevin Costner didn't appear in them after leaving the show. Why he left the show still remains pretty unclear but it's believed to stem from scheduling issues.

However, a conspiracy theory floated on Reddit is making a different claim. A viral post floated the idea "Costner saw the writing on the wall and got out of Dodge."

It's pretty straight-forward. If you believe the theory, you have to believe Costner knew exactly what would happen and didn't want any part of it.

Are people buying it? Let's take a look at some of the responses:

• He saw that horse spin one too many times
• I think the first 3, maybe 4 seasons KC was pushing back on a lot of sh*t TS was trying to do as KC was an Exec Producer. I know that usually is just for more money, but KC has directed films, so I think he would not let this be total sh*t. Come season 4, maybe he was getting sick of it. Then came the writers strike, the delays, etc, and he wanted to move along and did. Then came season 5a and 5b... Now TS is TOTALLY unencumbered to spin horse tails as he pleased, but I think what he did was an FU to KC. I watched Hell or High Water a few days ago and it was a pretty good flick. Same with Sicario. It just seems TS let his ego take over.
• I have to agree. Taylor can write a decent film for sure. But Yellowstones success probably got to Taylor's head an inflated his ego
• I actually enjoyed Lioness and Mayor of Kingstown as well. I'm not sure what happened to Yellowstone though.
• It makes perfect sense. The argument he had with TS was probably about his character dying, Beth going against his wishes and killing Jamie, maybe even the Travis episodes because you know TS wasn't going to miss out on have the entire thing actually be about his minor walk on character that no one thought twice about after he left.
• Starting to think this too
• This sub has hated the show almost the entire run, and certainly long before Costner left.
• That's not what happened. Season 5 was likely the end, regardless. He filmed 5a. He didn't film 5b because he was trying to get time off to make other stuff, and TS wouldn't allow it, so he quit. Especially because when he showed up for shooting, shooting that he wasn't allowed to take off because of, he shows up to shoots not starting on time, not having concise set schedules, etc. Sure he might have seen the writing on the wall, but that's not why he left. He left because of TS starting all kinds of different projects and mismanaging the ones he should be finishing out.
• He said when he and Taylor sat down the vision of the rest of the show changed for Taylor and he wasn’t interested anymore
• Sorry. It was awful the first time, IMO. He comes off as arrogant as all get out whether he's trying to act or being interviewed off camera. That said, I do like most of his productions.
• I think it’s the opposite. It had to end quick because KC pulled out. If he hadn’t, the story would have continued.
• Costner's ego is as big as Sheridan's ego. They both wanted it their way.

Alright, let's directly address this conspiracy theory. Do we really believe Costner found out about the ending and quit?

In order to believe that, you really have to suspend belief, and that's simply not something I'm willing to do. It's simply not true.

For those of you who don't know, the ending of "Yellowstone" has been known since the jump. This isn't a secret. It's been known for years.

Now, did the specifics change once Costner quit? Sure, but the overall conclusion was always going to be how it played out. It's literally called during season one and perfectly predicted in "1883." That's why all the complaints don't make a ton of sense.

Why did Kevin Costner leave "Yellowstone"? (Credit: Paramount Network)

Costner and Sheridan went their separate ways for many reasons that we don't know. The ending is absolutely not one of them. I'm more than willing to stamp false on this conspiracy theory. Fun to debate? Maybe. Realistic? Not at all. Let me know what you think at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.