Kevin Costner will reportedly not be returning for Yellowstone season 5, part 2. First airing in 2018, Taylor Sheriden’s hit neo-Western drama has become one of Paramount’s most popular shows ever, following Costner’s John Dutton as he fights to protect his ranch in Montana. Yellowstone season 5, part 1 aired last year, but part 2, the show’s final batch of episodes, has been mired in controversy regarding Costner’s involvement.
Now, as the wait for Yellowstone season 5 part 2 continues, Hollywood insider Matt Belloni reports on a new episode of his The Town podcast that Costner will not be returning for the show’s final episodes, as far as he’s aware.
The report follows months of behind-the-scenes drama on the show, which had made Costner’s potential return something of a question mark. Check out Belloni’s full comment on Yellowstone below:
“Yellowstone will probably go back into production at the beginning of the year. So it could be out this spring or summer. Scripts are already written, I’m told, or are being written. And the question is whether Costner is in those final episodes of this season of Yellowstone. And my understanding is that, as of now, he is not going to be in those episodes.”
Kevin Costner’s Yellowstone Drama Explained
About a month after the airing of the Yellowstone season 5 part 1 finale in January of this year, reports began to emerge that there was trouble brewing behind the scenes of the hit series. The reports outlined a growing rift between Costner and the Yellowstone production, including Sheridan, over a host of issues. Not long after these reports first surfaced, it was confirmed that Yellowstone season 5 part 2 would end the show.
The conflict between Costner and the production reportedly involved a dispute over salary and the creative direction of the show, but the crux of the issue seemed to be about the Yellowstone filming schedule. With season 5 having been split in half, the filming of part 2 would now affect Costner’s work on Horizon: An American Saga, his long-gestating passion project. The upcoming Western film was first conceived over 30 years ago, and Costner serves as co-writer, director, executive producer, and star.
While Belloni’s comments have not been officially confirmed by Sheridan or Paramount, it would appear that the rift between Costner and the production proved insurmountable. It’s not clear exactly how Yellowstone season 5 part 2 will deal with the absence of its main character, but Costner not returning evidently presents a big storytelling challenge. Now that the SAG-AFTRA strike has concluded and work on the final episodes of Yellowstone can resume, it’s likely that more information will be revealed in the comings weeks.
