Whereas Kevin Costner was the main star of Yellowstone, Sylvester Stallone is the face of Tulsa King on Paramount+, and Stallone may leave the show in the same vein as Costner with Yellowstone.
Taylor Sheridan created the crime drama television series, which aired its first season from late 2022 to early 2023 and revolves around Stallone's Dwight "The General" Manfredi, a Mafia capo who is released from prison and sets up criminal organizations in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The streaming platform renewed Tulsa King for a second season only a couple of weeks following its pilot episode, which Stallone is set to star in, but some signs point toward an early exit for the actor.
Of course, Kevin Costner leaving Yellowstone right before the series ends is heartbreaking. But the neo-Western drama series can survive without the actor, whereas Tulsa King would be meaningless without Sylvester Stallone. Yellowstone has a stronger ensemble than Taylor Sheridan's crime drama show, and it has had five seasons to build its world and characters (aside from John Dutton), so it can stand on its own even without Costner.
However, Tulsa King would likely go downhill fast if Stallone left.
If Stallone still feels the same way about making television as he did after production on the first season of the Paramount+ show, he probably won't be willing to film more episodes following season 2. Despite his character being Tulsa King's namesake, it does not appear like Stallone wants to stick around until the end of the series goes past season 2. If the actor chooses to leave, Sheridan would have a big problem on his hands trying to continue Tulsa King sans Stallone because the show doesn't have ground to stand on without him.
Thankfully, Taylor Sheridan now has experience with the central actor of one of his television shows leaving before the series ends. So, if Sylvester Stallone steps back and chooses not to return to the crime drama following season 2, Sheridan should know how to combat this problem. The filmmaker can learn from the drama surrounding Kevin Costner's Yellowstone exit and figure out how to prevent that from happening with Stallone in
Tulsa King on Paramount+.
