"Yellowstone" showrunner Taylor Sheridan is talking about the end of his hit series, and how star Kevin Costner's exit may be addressed.
"I'm disappointed," Sheridan told the Hollywood Reporter in an interview published Wednesday, adding "it truncates the closure of his character. It doesn't alter it, but it truncates it."
Costner stars as the patriarch John Dutton in "Yellowstone," a central character that Sheridan said is "symbolic and powerful."
Paramount confirmed last month that "Yellowstone" will end with Season 5, but speculation about Costner's departure began in February when Deadline reported the actor may be leaving the series early related to "disagreements over shooting schedules."
At the time, Paramount told CNN in a statement that the network has "no news to report."
Since then, Costner and Paramount have yet to make any official announcements on the actor's future with "Yellowstone" and conversations about filming scenes to wrap his character are reportedly ongoing.
Sheridan, however, said there were no issues between him and Costner, telling the publication "my opinion of Kevin as an actor hasn't altered."
"My last conversation with Kevin was that he had this passion project he wanted to direct," he said, referring to Costner's four-film project "Horizon."
"I've never had an issue with Kevin that he and I couldn't work out on the phone," Sheridan said, adding that "once lawyers get involved," being able to communicate got complicated.
He expressed his support for Costner's passion project.
"His movie seems to be a great priority to him and he wants to shift focus. I sure hope [the movie is] worth it — and that it's a good one," Sheridan said.
Due to the ongoing writers' strike, Sheridan said he has not yet written the show's final episodes.
"If I think it takes 10 episodes to wrap it up, they'll give me 10," Sheridan said of the conclusion of Season 5. "It'll be as long as it needs to be."
