Yellowstone director treated final season like a ‘closed set for nude scenes’ to avoid leaks and spoilers

Christina Voros, the director behind numerous episodes of Yellowstone’s upcoming final season, has revealed how much effort went into production to ensure the plot remains under lock and key.

Yellowstone’s final chapter, season 5B, debuts on November 10 after a long wait, and the crew has taken extra measures to ensure no leaks or spoilers emerge during filming.

Speak with The Hollywood ReporterVoros, who directed four of the six episodes in Season 5B, revealed that they used closed sets – the types used during nude scenes involving only a minimal number of people – to keep the story guarded.

“We had very, very closed sets. We really treated every scene as if it were a closed set, so you had the same protocols as if you had nudity on set, with only key personnel behind the monitors,” she explained.

‘If we would do block rehearsals, it is usually the cast who determines the lines and the ACs write down the points. During these block rehearsals we would not actually conduct the dialogue. The actors moved through the room and landed in their places. But they wouldn’t actually say the dialogue, and only the people in the closed set would actually see the scenes. So it was quite a cloak and dagger.”

Christina Voros, pictured in 2023, directed four of the six episodes of Yellowstone’s final season

‘It did create work for every department; each department head had to become a gatekeeper for his own team. A real challenge, and a layer in the beginning, was making it fun. In the end we started to enjoy it. We joked that we should have filmed the block rehearsals because the cast was involved and there were a lot of laughs. But it was all in service of protecting the story for the public.”

To keep the story secret, Voros even served as script coordinator, and actors only received scripts for the scenes they were specifically in.

“We didn’t have a script coordinator; I took over that role and did the editing for each cast member. Most of the cast only got to see the scenes they were in. So a lot of the cast, even some of our seven-year veterans, will learn what happens when the show premieres,” she said.

Not only were the actors left in the dark, but so were the crew behind the scenes.

“Typically, the department gets the scripts and shares them with everyone on their team, from people doing approvals to people choosing paint colors,” she explained. “So this strategy extended not only to getting scripts for actors, but also to what needed to be shared with key crew and staff so they could do their jobs without having to bear the burden of keeping secrets. ‘

When filming for a large number of extras, they even changed the dialogue to prevent the many actors from really knowing what was going on.

“There were scenes where we had a lot of extras and we shot a different version of the scene,” she said. “We’re so lucky to have so many great background artists come to the show and make the world real for us – but you don’t want 150 people in an arena going home and telling their families what they did that day.

Yellowstone’s final chapter, season 5B, debuts on November 10 after a long wait, and the crew has taken extra measures to ensure no leaks or spoilers emerge during filming.

To keep the story secret, Voros even served as script coordinator, and actors only received scripts for the scenes they were specifically in.

This next season comes after Yellowstone star Kevin Costner, who played patriarch John Dutton, left the series last year

“There were some places where the cast learned variations on what their dialogue was to protect and distract from what people would think was happening.”

Overall, the only people really aware of the plot were Voros, creator Taylor Sheridan, department heads, and those who played the Dutton family.

This next season comes after Yellowstone star Kevin Costner, who played patriarch John Dutton, left the series last year.

But Voros was vague about Costner’s possible involvement in the final season when asked if things were different without him on set.

‘I don’t know if we were without him. Don’t know!’ she replied.

Voros also admitted that Costner’s departure was one of the reasons why they were particularly protective of the scripts.

THR asked: “Taylor Sheridan always keeps his scripts secret. But was this increased level of security around the scripts a result of Kevin Costner’s departure? Was it because these were billed as the final episodes of Yellowstone? Was it because the show has become the No. 1 show on TV and the stakes have gotten higher?”

Overall, the only people really aware of the plot were Voros, creator Taylor Sheridan, department heads, and those who played the Dutton family (Sheridan pictured with Yellowstone stars Kelly Reilly and Kevin Costner, who have since created the show abandoned, in 2018)

‘Yes. All that. All things. It was basically a perfect storm. There is so much anticipation,” Voros replied. ‘There was so much in the press about Kevin. And when you make a show that has such a beloved following, everyone is going to have their own ideas about how it should end.

‘I think Taylor has written something beautiful, surprising, unexpected and compelling. The cast has grown so deeply into these roles this year, after seven years of filming this show, that the performances are truly next level.

“You’re dealing with a cast of actors who know their characters as well as Taylor does, and who have put a lifetime of work into building these roles. This year’s performance is simply exceptional.’

Voros said they were currently in post-production.

‘Edits are flying into the pipeline. I just color corrected the first three episodes. I think everyone is really excited,” she explained.