The Taylor Sheridan-created Yellowstone is a milestone when it comes ti the Western genre. Starting Kevin Costner in the lead, the TV show is almost at its end, even though we are yet to get any updates on the second half of the fifth and final season of the show. But Yellowstone is not the only creation by Sheridan, who also has movies like Sicario and Wind River and the hit TV show, Mayor of Kingstown to his credit.
His hold over the Western genre is commendable, as Sheridan has gone on to create some solid projects that have the audiences hooked. He also has a knack for casting the perfect fit for every character, and that is not limited to just the primary cast. Even the extras and secondary cast members end up becoming fan favorites, and that’s exactly what happened with Ryan Bingham, who stars as everyone’s favorite ranch hand, Walker.
How Ryan Bingham Got to Work With Taylor Sheridan on Yellowstone
Ryan Bingham joined the cast of Yellowstone after the show had already started airing. Initially, he was not part of Sheridan’s plan for the show, but after getting to know him, and some of his talents, Taylor Sheridan thought it best to have him become a Yellowstone cast member. Sheridan initially got in touch with the actor-singer-songwriter to have him write a song for his movie, Wind River. Starring Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen, the crime drama is one of the very best movies that came out of Sheridan’s bag of wonders.
In a conversation during The Bobby Bones Show, Bingham shared:
Taylor Sheridan, the writer and director, prior to this wrote and directed a film called Wind River. He contacted me then about writing a song for that movie, but I never came up with anything that stuck. Then this show came around and he contacted me about writing a song for the show.
Hassie Harrison and Ryan Bingham in Yellowstone
He further added that even though the musical connection never came to be, after getting to know that Bingham could ride horses and had experience in rodeo, Sheridan wrote a character for him as a ranch hand in Yellowstone.
Then he found out I could ride horses, and I used to rodeo. And he said, ‘Shoot, I’m going to have to write you in… I don’t know what I’m going to do with you but I guess we’ll figure it out’. So, we came up with the character of Walker and he basically told me, ‘We’ll see how it goes. If you do good I’ll keep you on and if you suck we’ll just kill you off’.
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Even though his character was not in the initial plans of the show, Bingham’s Walker became a fan favorite with his spirited nature and melodious tunes.
Will Kevin Costner Return to Yellowstone to End The Arc?
Kevin Costner, who led Yellowstone as John Dutton since day 1, left the show after the first part of Season 5 was complete. Citing various reasons for his departure, which led to some clashes with Paramount as well as Taylor Sheridan himself, things did not look too positive as far as his return to the show was concerned. Even though he was committed to the show, the long delays did not sit well with the actor, who now wants to focus on his own passion project – Horizon, whose first part has already premiered at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
Kevin Costner in Yellowstone
But in an interview with Indiewire, Costner made a surprising comment about his wish to return to the show, but only under certain conditions. Talking about his probable return to Yellowstone, Costner said:
I know they’ll probably do [Yellowstone] without me. I’m open to coming back. But I basically have to see what the scripts are about. But now Horizon has my first position.
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Whether he returns or not, is completely dependent on whether Costner and Sheridan can come to an agreement. But if you asked fans, they would definitely like to end the show with the whole cast in it. Yellowstone is available for streaming on Paramount+.
