“I wanted to capture the realism of that”: Yellowstone Would’ve Been a Different Beast if Taylor Sheridan Remembered His Greatest Gun Fight Scene in Hollywood

SUMMARY

• If Taylor Sheridan applied his attention to detail in gunfight realism to Yellowstone, the show could have been far grittier.
• Sheridan’s films, like Wind River and Hell or High Water, have a knack for grounding violence in harsh, uncomfortable reality.
• For Wind River, Sheridan studied real LAPD gunfight footage for years to accurately portray shootouts.

Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone is a phenomenon—a rugged, fiercely compelling look at the modern-day American West. It’s blend of grit, power, and family drama has attracted millions of viewers since it first premiered in 2018. The series pulses with tension, power struggles, and, yes, violence.

However, if Sheridan had remembered one particular lesson from his earlier film work—specifically his work on a gunfight scene—it could have changed the game entirely for Yellowstone.

Kevin Costner in Yellowstone | Credits: Paramount Pictures.

Sheridan’s approach to violence is far removed from the glorified, action-packed shootouts Hollywood loves to serve up. In his films, his style is about capturing violence in its raw, jarring form—realistic, messy, and often over before anyone even realizes it’s started. Had Sheridan reflected on this experience, he could have infused even more raw, immediate energy into the shootouts of Yellowstone. 

Taylor Sheridan on turning Hollywood’s glorified violence into a raw reflection of reality

Taylor Sheridan has an uncanny ability to take the pulse of society and inject it into his films. Whether it’s the devastating consequences of a broken system or the heart-wrenching struggles of individuals trying to carve out a life, he doesn’t sugarcoat anything. In his mind, the life of a Native American, for instance, isn’t a romanticized version of the past but a harsh battle for survival against insurmountable odds. He said (The Guardian):

Sheridan, a man who’s created the gritty stories of Wind River and Hell or High Water, has a knack for grounding violence in harsh reality. He doesn’t paint the battlefield with pretty strokes or romantic notions of what it’s like to pull a trigger. Instead, he shows it for what it truly is: messy, shocking, and short-lived.

“I didn’t want to glorify that,” he stated, talking about his preparation for a major shootout in Wind River, where he immersed himself in years of LAPD gunfight footage. The point? Violence doesn’t have the luxury of looking like an action sequence. It’s fast. It’s vicious. It’s a fight for survival, not a cinematic dance.

Taylor Sheridan | Credits: CBS Sunday Mornings

For one intense shootout scene in Wind River, Sheridan didn’t just rely on his imagination—he spent hours studying real-life gunfights. He recalled:

And maybe that’s where Yellowstone could’ve taken a cue from his meticulous style.

What if Taylor Sheridan’s gritty realism transformed Yellowstone’s gunfights?

Imagine if Taylor Sheridan applied this same level of detail to Yellowstone.

Taylor Sheridan’s Wind River | Credit: The Weinstein Company

Yellowstone is already known for its intense, often shocking moments. We mean, where do you even start? The shocking death of Lee Dutton in the pilot. Who expected that gut-wrenching loss right out of the gate? Lee’s death not only left viewers reeling but set Kayce on a path of vengeance that led him to kill his own brother-in-law, cold-blooded and execution-style. That’s Yellowstone’s version of a shootout, and let’s just say it doesn’t quite have the same brutality Sheridan might have infused.

Think about the bar fight in the bunkhouse. And it doesn’t stop there. Remember the violent beating of Beth Dutton? Or the cold murder of Sarah Nguyen by Jamie? These moments are shocking, yes, but they still carry the weight of a scripted show.

What if they had been more visceral, more unexpected? What if the gunfights weren’t just dramatic power plays but a brutal reminder of how fragile life is on that Montana ranch? Every bullet would have felt heavier. Every fight would’ve left more scars, not just on the characters but on us, the viewers.

If Sheridan had applied his ruthless realism to Yellowstone, we might’ve seen something entirely different. They’d hit harder. And those deaths? They’d feel real. After all, the only thing more dangerous than the land in Yellowstone is the deadly game the Duttons play to hold onto it.

Yellowstone is streaming on Peacock.

Written by Siddhika Prajapati

Articles Published: 2450