Kevin Costner has starred as patriarch John Dutton on the wildly successful Yellowstone since 2018, but his future with the series as production on the second half of its final season picks up has been unclear. The actor kept his status with Yellowstone under wraps for months before finally confirming his plans in June 2024.
Kevin Costner Confirmed His Exit From ‘Yellowstone’
After months of playing coy about his involvement in the final installment of Yellowstone, Kevin put the speculation to rest with some unfortunate news for fans of the series on June 20, 2024. He confirmed that he would not be returning.
“Hi everyone. I just want to reach out and let you know that after this long year and a half of working on Horizon and doing all the things that that’s required, and thinking about Yellowstone — that beloved series that I love, that I know you love – I just realize that I’m not going to be able to continue season 5b or into the future,” the actor said in an Instagram video.
Kevin continued, “It was something that really changed me. I loved it, and I know you loved it. I just wanted to let you know that I won’t be returning. I love the relationship we’ve been able to develop, and I’ll see you at the movies.”
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter on June 24, 2024, Kevin explained that it “wasn’t tough” to finally reveal the news. “It was a necessary decision to say, ‘Hey, OK, I don’t want to really talk about this anymore. It’s time to move on,’” he said.
“I gave this thing five seasons,” Kevin added. “I was really happy to do it. And I don’t need drama. So, let’s just take that drama away, let’s take the guessing [away]. The fans have been way too good to me. And my obligation is to go on and continue to make things that mean something to them.”
What Else Has Kevin Coster Said About Returning for Yellowstone’s Final Episodes?
“I’d like to be able to do it but we haven’t been able to,” Kevin told Entertainment Tonight on April 9, 2024, seemingly referring to his clashes with show creator Taylor Sheridan.
Noting the Yellowstone spinoffs either currently airing or in preproduction, he continued, “I thought I was going to make seven [seasons] but right now we’re at five. So how it works out – I hope it does – but they’ve got a lot of different shows going on. Maybe it will. Maybe this will circle back to me.”
“If it does and I feel really comfortable with [it], I’d love to do it,” Kevin said about returning to finish off the series.
How Might Kevin Costner’s Character Be Written Out of ‘Yellowstone’?
After the Waterworld star reportedly wanted a say in how his character would be written out of the show, Taylor told The Hollywood Reporter in June 2023, “Whether [Dutton’s fate] inflates [Kevin’s] ego or insults is collateral damage that I don’t factor in with regard to storytelling.”
Has Kevin Costner Been Committed to Seeing ‘Yellowstone’ Through to the End?
After originating the role of John Dutton ever since the series premiered on the Paramount Network, Kevin hinted in 2022 that he might leave the show for other projects.
“I’ll go till it doesn’t feel like we’re interesting, and right now we have our foot on the gas and that feels OK to me,” he told Entertainment Tonight at the time. “I have interests that are outside of everything I do, including the movies, so I have other things that I want to do.”
Kevin and Taylor began clashing when the Oscar winner wanted to spend more time shooting his passion project, Horizon: An American Saga.
“His movie seems to be a great priority to him and he wants to shift focus. I sure hope [the movie is] worth it and that it’s a good one,” Taylor told THR. He added how it would affect Kevin’s departure from Yellowstone. “I’m disappointed. It truncates the closure of his character. It doesn’t alter it, but it truncates it.”
When Was It Announced that ‘Yellowstone’ Would End?
The Paramount Network confirmed in May 2023 that the show’s fifth season would be its last. The first half of the season premiered in November 2022 and broke records, garnering more than 17 million total viewers according to the network.
When Are the Final ‘Yellowstone’ Episodes Scheduled to Start Filming?
Kevin was busy shooting Horizon: An American Saga, in the spring of 2023, then production was pushed back even further due to the Writers Guild and Screen Actors Guild strikes later that year.
Several members of the cast have said they’re not sure when the show would resume filming.
“I’m still waiting to find out what’s happening with Yellowstone. I have absolutely no clue. I did talk to Kelly Reilly [who plays Beth Dutton] the other day and, you know, we’ll see what happens. Once they give us the call – we’re there,” Lainey Wilson, who played Abby in the first half of season 5, told Fox News on the red carpet of the iHeartRadio Music Awards on April 1, 2024.
“We will go back, rumor has it, in May. We should be on in November, roughly,” Ian Bohen told Entertainment Tonight while attending the Elton John Aids Foundation Oscars party in March 2024 about when the show could return to production.
The actor added, “You’re gonna have to give me some leeway on that. It’s not gonna be sooner than that. It could be June,” noting, “We shoot six episodes.”
When Will the Final ‘Yellowstone’ Episodes Air?
There’s no scheduled airdate for the back half of Yellowstone season 5, although executives reportedly are aiming for a November 2024 premiere.
Ian had his guesses. “November…maybe December, and then we go through the holidays, and then maybe season finale…series finale, maybe on Super Bowl, and that will be the end of an era,” he told the outlet.
