“A F—k You Car Crash”: Yellowstone Creator Recalls Biggest Lesson Learned From Sons of Anarchy Role
Taylor Sheridan reveals how his time as an actor on Sons of Anarchy is shaping his decision on how to handle Kevin Costner’s exit from Yellowstone.
Taylor Sheridan’s Sons of Anarchy exit has shaped how he intends to deal with his own series Yellowstone. The actor, writer, and producer is known for writing such movies as Sicario and Hell or High Water in addition to creating the Yellowstone universe, which has now expanded to include the spinoffs 1883, 1923, Lawmen: Bass Reeves, and more. Yellowstone itself will be ending with the upcoming second half of season 5 due to the exit of lead actor Kevin Costner following rumors of a backstage feud between Costner and Sheridan.
The Hollywood Reporter recently ran a profile on Sheridan ahead of the delayed release of Yellowstone season 5 part 2. When asked if he would kill off Costner’s character John Dutton in a “f–k you car crash,” Sheridan fervently denied this idea, even reflecting on how his time on Sons of Anarchy is informing how he handles Costner’s exit in his show. Read his full quote below:
I was killed in a f—k-you car crash! I don’t do f—k-you car crashes. Whether [Dutton’s fate] inflates [Costner’s] ego or insults is collateral damage that I don’t factor in with regard to storytelling.
How Will John Dutton Leave Yellowstone?
It’s not uncommon for television characters to get a “f–k you car crash.” In fact, Sheridan’s exit from Sons of Anarchy was hardly the first, as the term was most widely circulated following Patrick Dempsey’s exit from the long-running medical drama Grey’s Anatomy when his iconic character, Dr. Derek Shepherd, was killed in a car crash in season 11, though even that exit was not the first time the trope was deployed in TV.
Even if this will not be t he fate meted out to John Dutton, this doesn’t mean that the character will survive Yellowstone season 5. It’s possible that he could die offscreen in some other way, something that shows do quite frequently when actors aren’t available to shoot their final seasons. This is also how shows in the past have handled the real-life deaths of their stars, including Riverdale’s Luke Perry and Glee’s Cory Monteith.
It is also possible that Dutton will remain alive but exit the series in some other way. The most likely manner would be to remove him geographically, perhaps as part of his new role as Governor of Montana, though if it happens, Sheridan’s experience in the industry will at least ensure that the onscreen events of his ever-growing Yellowstone universe don’t reflect behind-the-scenes events like Sons of Anarchy.
