“Yellowstone” is a Western series where Kevin Costner plays John Dutton. It tells the tale of a ranching family in Montana that’s facing threats from those trying to take over their land. Since it first premiered in 2018, Costner has been in 53 episodes. But he’s planning to leave the show after season 5 for a bunch of different reasons.
Kevin Costner as John Dutton on “Yellowstone” in a post dated May 9, 2024 Source. Instagram/yellowstone
Before “Yellowstone’s” season 5B came back on November 10, 2024, Costner was asked how he’d describe his character’s presence, since he didn’t seem to be in the trailer much. He said, “His presence is really important. I think if I said any more than that, it might mess up all the work that went into changing the scripts!”
He also added with a laugh, “But I think the reason people are asking, ‘Is he in it or not? Where is he?’ is because he’s the patriarch, and his presence is a key part of the story. John Dutton is still right at the center.”
The show’s co-creator and writer, Taylor Sheridan, usually keeps the scripts a secret. But some people thought the extra secrecy might be because of a few things. Director Christina Voros was asked if it was because of Costner leaving, the fact that 5B is the final season, or just because the show is so popular and people have high expectations.
Voros said that all those things were playing a role. She also said that with a show that people love so much, fans have ideas about how it should end. According to her, Sheridan made a really nice, surprising, exciting, and unexpected ending.
The director went on, “The cast this year, after seven years of working on this show, has really grown into their roles. The acting is on a whole new level.” She explained that the actors, who know their characters as well as Sheridan does, have put a ton of work into building these roles. Voros ended by saying, “The performances this year are just amazing.” Now, about Costner’s departure, it seems like there were problems with his filming schedule.
Kevin Costner at the Golden Globes in a post dated January 8, 2024 Source: Instagram/yellowstone
Sources say that Costner first set aside 65 days for “Yellowstone” but then wanted to cut it down to 50 days for season 5. For the second half of the season, the Golden Globes winner was only going to film for one week because he had other projects to do.
Part of the Reason Why Costner Left ‘Yellowstone’
By February 2023, Costner was already directing and starring in his multi-part Western film series, “Horizon: An American Saga”. He wrote it with Jon Baird, and New Line and Warner Bros. Pictures picked up the films.
Since Costner was still playing John Dutton, his work on his own project supposedly made Sheridan mad. It also caused problems with the morale of the other actors.
In 2023, sources said that Paramount Network turned down Costner’s idea and decided to go a different way. There were hints about a possible “Yellowstone” franchise extension, and Matthew McConaughey might be the new lead.
Reports say that McConaughey is in talks. When Costner was asked in May 2024 about his situation with “Yellowstone” while also doing other things, he said, “Well, I haven’t felt good about it for the last year with the way they talked about it. It wasn’t honest.”
The star said his original contract was for five to seven seasons, but a new contract in February 2024 was only for seasons 5A and B, with a possible season six. But he said, “They couldn’t make those.”
He added, “Horizon” was in the middle, but “Yellowstone” was the first priority. I fit [Horizon] into the gaps. But they just kept changing the gaps.” Before “Horizon” showed at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, Costner said how excited he was to show his own film there.
He said, “I’m so excited to be going there. And listen, I don’t want to get into a fight about the “Yellowstone” thing, but what I’m telling you is the truth.” Sheridan also said something without getting too specific. He was unhappy with some “Yellowstone” people.
He said, “But if you know me well enough, I made “Yellowstone” the first priority, and to say anything else would be wrong. I didn’t start any of this. They did. They were playing games, and this poor guy also had to write so much.”
The actor said he didn’t understand why the “Yellowstone” team didn’t stand up for him. But he didn’t want to think about it too much and just focused on promoting his film. He said, “They’ve been really good at staying out of it; nobody ever said anything on the record.”
Costner said he didn’t film 5B because there was no script. He even left his own film to meet “Yellowstone’s” schedule for 5B, but then found the first eight episodes weren’t done and needed four more days to finish.
He said, “I left early to give them what they needed to have a complete eight, and I felt bad that the audience didn’t get 10. They didn’t have the scripts for anything else.” The actor went on, “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 wear me out or whatever, I can give you a week.”
Costner said he didn’t have an extra week to give but was willing to work something out. But his words got twisted, and people said he “only wanted to work a week”. He announced he was leaving “Yellowstone” earlier this year.
Costner’s Departure Announcement and Fan Reactions
In June 2024, Costner talked about his “Yellowstone” exit in an Instagram video. He said after working on “Horizon” for a year and a half, he was thinking about the series he and his fans loved.
The actor said, “I just realized that I’m not going to be able to keep going with Season 5B or in the future. He said the show had meant a lot to him, “I just wanted to let you know that I won’t be back, and I love the relationship we’ve been able to build, and I’ll see you at the movies.”
Paramount has said that “Yellowstone” will end with the next part of its fifth season. Fans were disappointed. One said, “That’s really disappointing.” Another said, “Well, thanks for letting us all down.” And one fan added, “You disappointed Yellowstone fans.”
A disappointed fan said, “You should have at least finished Ys. Bad move, so disappointing.” Another said, “Shame on you.” And a final fan said, “Bad decision, man!”
When asked if it was hard to confirm his departure, Costner told a publication, “It wasn’t hard.” He said it was important for him to move forward and he didn’t want to think about it anymore.
The actor said he’d been in “Yellowstone” for five seasons and liked his role. But to avoid drama, stop people from guessing, and respect his fans, he thought it was his job “to keep going and make things that matter to them.”
Now he’s focused on his independent film series. “Horizon: Chapter 2” came out in August 2024, after the first chapter in June. There are two more films planned, and Costner has started filming “Chapter 3”, but he needs more money to finish it.
The star has been trying to make his four-part saga for 35 years, which is a big deal. Fans weren’t the only ones with reactions; Sheridan said, “My opinion of Kevin as an actor hasn’t changed.”
Kevin Costner as John Dutton on “Yellowstone” in a post dated October 12, 2023 |Source. Instagram/yellowstone
Sheridan said Costner did a great job playing his character. He said that usually he and the star could talk things out, but when lawyers got involved, it messed up communication and led to misunderstandings.
The show’s co-creator said the media seemed to blame different people. He said, “He took a lot of this on the chin, and I don’t know if anyone deserved it.”
Sheridan said it seemed like Kevin Costner’s film was his main thing and he wanted the focus to be on that. He said, “I sure hope [the movie is] good – and that it’s worth it.”
But he also said he was disappointed, “It cuts short the ending of his character. It doesn’t change it, but it makes it shorter.”
Here’s hoping Costner does well with his project!