Since its premiere in 2018, Yellowstone has been a breakout hit for The Paramount Network and one of the most popular shows on TV. Taylor Sheridan’s modern Western also revitalized Kevin Costner’s career by placing him in the lead as John Dutton, the patriarch of the Dutton family, who own the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch, one of the largest ranches in Montana.
The fifth season of Yellowstone premiered in 2022, but the future of the series and the franchise were called into question when reports emerged that Costner was leaving the show and Paramount Network had already ordered a sequel series that will continue without Costner’s involvement. To bring everyone up to speed, here’s everything you need to know about the future of Yellowstone.
Will there be a sixth season of Yellowstone?
Sort of, but not something labeled as Yellowstone season 6. The six remaining episodes of Yellowstone are still technically part of the fifth season, or season 5B, as Paramount has called it. But at the same time that Paramount confirmed the end of Yellowstone, the studio also announced that a contemporary spinoff is on the way that will feature many of the show’s current cast members.
Additionally, Matthew McConaughey is reportedly being eyed as the lead character in the new series, which will continue the saga of the Dutton family in lieu of a sixth season.
Why is Kevin Costner leaving Yellowstone?
In February 2023, Deadline reported that the dispute between Costner and The Paramount Network concerned his participation in season 5’s filming schedule. It noted that Costner’s priority was Horizon, a new multipart Western film that is his current passion project. According to the report, Costner’s commitments to those films led him to shoot only 50 days for the first half of Yellowstone season 5. But Costner “only wanted to spend a week shooting” for the remaining episodes of the season. Subsequently, Paramount Network made plans to end the series and push toward a sequel show.
Sheridan addressed the issue in a June 2023 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, where he said: “My last conversation with Kevin was that he had this passion project he wanted to direct. He and the network argued about when he could be done with Yellowstone. I said, ‘We can certainly work a schedule toward [his preferred exit date],’ which we did.”
“My opinion of Kevin as an actor hasn’t altered,” added Sheridan. “I’ve never had an issue with Kevin that he and I couldn’t work out on the phone. But once lawyers get involved, then people don’t get to talk to each other and start saying things that aren’t true and attempt to shift blame based on how the press or public seem to be reacting. He took a lot of this on the chin, and I don’t know that anyone deserves it … I’m disappointed. It truncates the closure of his character. It doesn’t alter it, but it truncates it.”
What does Kevin Costner say about his future involvement with Yellowstone?
Costner has not given interviews about the subject until very recently. As reported by Deadline, Costner’s departure from Yellowstone came up during his divorce proceedings in September 2023,
“Somewhere along the line, they wanted to change things,” said Costner during his testimony in court. “They wanted to do 5A and 5B; [it] affected Horizon. I was going to do my movie Horizon and leave that show, do my movie, then do B. A show I was only doing once a year I was now doing twice.”
“We did negotiate,” added Costner. “There were issues about creative … I tried to break the logjam. They walked away.” Costner also noted that he was offered $24 million to shoot Yellowstone seasons 6 and 7. Additionally, Costner said that he will “probably go to court” over his dispute with Paramount Network. But as of January 2024, no court case has been filed by the actor. And it is still unknown if Costner will return for the final episodes of Yellowstone.
However, a March 2024 report from Matthew Belloni of Puck News stated that Costner wants to return for Yellowstone’s final run of episodes.“Kevin Costner has been telling people he’s planning to return for at least a cameo and possibly more, but there are currently no discussions for him to do that,” Belloni wrote in his newsletter. “Even if Costner significantly lowers his financial and time commitment demands, Sheridan may not want to bother reopening his finished scripts to accommodate a send-off for John Dutton.
Those comments were borne out by Costner himself, who has spent the last three months talking about his desire to return to Yellowstone in some capacity… and on his own terms.
A possible return to Yellowstone
Even in June 2024, with new episodes in production, Costner is still striking a conciliatory tone while praising the series.
“I’ve supported that thing and I’ve loved it,” Costner said during an appearance on NBC’s Today. “It’s been really important to me. I would love to go back under the right circumstances I think that all of us want. For me, it really needs to be the right circumstances.”
Costner added that “there’s always a chance,” he could still return, even now. “I love the thing. You’ve got to be really clear about that.”
Kevin Costner addresses the rumors about his Yellowstone exit
Costner is now promoting his new western, Horizon. And his interview with Deadline on May 13 showed his apparent anger about the situation and the story that has unfolded in the media over the last year.
“I don’t want to get down in the gutter with the Yellowstone thing but what I’m telling you is straight up,” Costner said. “I have taken a beating from those f***ing guys and I know a lot of times where it’s coming from. I just elected not to get into that. But if you know me well enough, I made Yellowstone the first priority, and to insinuate anything else would be wrong. I did not initiate any of those things. They did. They were doing a tap dance and this poor guy was also having to write so much. And I don’t know why they didn’t stick up for me.”
Costner’s account from his divorce trial lines up with his latest comments about the issues facing Yellowstone season 5, part 2, particularly the lack of scripts to shoot. He also explained where the rumor came from that he only wanted to work a week on the remaining episodes of the season.
“They didn’t have the scripts for anything else,” Costner said. “So, what you read in the end was that I said, ‘Well, look, I’m doing my movie. If you want me to work a week because you want to kill me or whatever else, I can give you a week.’ I really didn’t have that week to give them, but I said, I’ll do that. And then they [spun that] into, I only wanted to work a week.”
“I’m usually working six or seven days per each, whatever they are,” Costner added. “And they took that and a source on their side spun that into, well, he only wants to work a week for a whole season. Do you think that’s who I am? I’ve never missed a day of work. I’ve never left before fulfilling my contractual obligations. A lot of times, I stay as much as I can. In fact, I worked the nine-day stretch just to try to help them in July, when I was starting [Horizon] August 1. I worked a Saturday and Sunday for them, and they still needed four more days. I gave it to them, when I thought we were going to do this so-called B, but there was no B thing. I was just going to give ‘em those extra four days.”
Costner also voiced his frustration that Sheridan and others did not defend him in the press while these stories were circulating.
“They were silent and that bothered me in the world of how you do things,” Costner said. “Why don’t you stick up for me? I went and sold this thing for you. I was going to only do one season. I made it for three. I fulfilled three. So, I went from one to three, then I did a fourth one for them and they wanted to do three more. So, I made the contract to do that. They imploded. I had a contract to do five, six and seven. I was contracted to do that. There’s nothing I could have done to get out of that, nor was I trying to just figure out how, when we started. When we finished, I wanted to do Horizon. It all happened because they shut down one whole season, didn’t tell anybody and I didn’t work for 14 months.”
Despite the apparent hard feelings over the dispute, Costner still says he’s willing to consider coming back for the final episodes.
“I’m very open to coming back,” Costner said. “If they’ve got so many other things going on, maybe this circles back and it’s a really cool two seasons. Or end it, if the writing’s there and I’m happy with it. I’m open to that. But I took a beating over these guys not speaking up for me and allowing crazy stories to come out. I’m not happy about that. But if the writing is there, I will be there too.”
“They had first position,” Costner said. “I didn’t do Horizon because I was tired of doing Yellowstone. That’s a bulls*** story. I didn’t do Horizon to compete with Yellowstone. This is something I’ve had a long time. Taylor read that script three years earlier when he was contemplating other writers [for Yellowstone]. I said, well, you can look at what John [Baird] and I did, not that I think I’m qualified. I think you write Yellowstone beautifully. So, he read that and knew what the thing was about. It’s just that simple: Paramount and 101 Studios mismanaged this. They had me for five, six, and seven. I agreed to do it. And then they steadily began changing their format.”
Does Kevin Costner want a say in the fate of John Dutton?
If Yellowstone fans were hoping for a good sign about Costner’s return to the show, this is it. During an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Costner expressed his desire to see Dutton as the author of his own fate.
“[Dutton] needs to be proactive in what happens and I’ve kind of had my own fantasy how [the character’s final arc] might be,” noted Costner. “But that’s Taylor’s thing. I said as much to him a while back. I had thoughts how it could happen, but we just have to see.”
Does this mean that Costner is coming back? Not quite. As noted above, the previous report in Puck suggests that Sheridan may be less than accommodating about changing his scripts for the remaining episodes of Yellowstone even if it means giving the show’s star one last sendoff. Regardless, Costner sounds hopeful about the situation.
“I’d like to be able to do it, but we haven’t been able to … I thought I was going to make seven [seasons] but right now we’re at five,” related Costner. “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 Costner says goodbye to Yellowstone
The end of an era has arrived. While the writing was on the wall when Yellowstone season 5 resumed without a deal for Costner to return, the actor spent months praising the show in the press and expressing his willingness to return. Now, with episodes already being filmed, Costner has acknowledged that he’s done with with Yellowstone and won’t be coming back.
“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 realized that I’m not going to be able to continue, season 5 or into the future,” said Costner on his Instagram account.
“I loved it and I know you loved it, and I just wanted to let you know that I won’t be returning,” Costner added. “I love the relationship we’ve been able to develop, and I’ll see you at the movies.”
