We Should All Be in Prison”: Kevin Costner Slams Yellowstone’s Controversial Finale

Kevin Costner may be done with Yellowstone, but he’s not done talking about it — and he just delivered one of his most eyebrow-raising assessments yet. In a new interview with Entertainment Tonight, Costner, while promoting his long-gestating four-part Western epic Horizon, was asked about the 35th anniversary of his Oscar-winning Dances with Wolves. But his mind was still firmly fixed on his current passion project — and, just as quickly, his past one: “Horizon feels like thirty-five years ago,” he joked. “[Part] Two is done, and I hope to make [Parts] Three and Four.”

That hope may be dimming. After Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 struggled at the box office and Chapter 2 was pulled from the release schedule, Costner finds himself at a strange crossroads. His ambitious multi-film gamble came at the cost of exiting one of television’s biggest hits — and, arguably, his most iconic character in decades: John Dutton.

Costner’s behind-the-scenes conflict with Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan over scheduling and contract terms became one of the industry’s most talked-about creative splits. Ultimately, Dutton was killed off-screen in Yellowstone’s final season, reshaping the entire trajectory of the series — and triggering a finale that left many fans divided.

What Did Kevin Costner Think of ‘Yellowstone’?

Still, Costner isn’t burning the ranch down just yet. When reflecting on what made Yellowstone resonate, he shared a surprisingly blunt — and slightly tongue-in-cheek — take. And if we’re being honest, it’s also an entirely correct take, too. While the series was full of colorful characters, it’s fair to say 95% of them stayed on one very specific side of the law, something Costner quite clearly pointed out.

“It’s modern-day ranching. Yellowstone was able to capture that so beautifully. I mean, it’s a bit of a soap opera. We should all be in prison.”

While that last line was clearly a jab at the Dutton clan’s many legal and moral transgressions — covering up murders, land grabs, and more — it also felt like a very winking critique of how far the show stretched its own mythos in later seasons. But despite the dramatic nature of his exit, Costner has repeatedly made it clear that he still harbors affection for the show and the world it created.

“I loved the show,” he told PEOPLE last summer. “I liked the people on the show. I liked what it was about. I love that world… I’ve always felt that it might be an interesting moment to come back and finish the mythology of this modern-day family. And if that happens, I would step into it if I agreed with how it was being done.”

Yellowstone is streaming now on Peacock. Horizon is streaming on Max.