Kevin Costner Confirms His Fate On “Yellowstone”
on Jun 21, 2024
Kevin Costner has put rumors to rest about his return to Yellowstone, confirming what fans have been fearing.
Kevin Costner is on a massive press tour for his new movie, Horizon: An American Saga. While there is plenty of discussion about Costner’s passion project, the conversation keeps turning to Yellowstone.
Costner, 69, appeared as John Dutton, a Montana rancher and Dutton family patriarch, for 4 1/2 seasons of Yellowstone. The television drama series became one of the most successful ever, with more than 5 million viewers per episode. That success can be credited to the show’s creator, Taylor Sheridan, and brilliant casting that included Kevin Costner, Luke Grimes, Kelly Reilly, Cole Hauser, and more.
Fans were shocked when rumors started swirling that Yellowstone‘s lead actor, Costner, would not be returning for the second half of the show’s fifth and final season. At the time, Costner’s exit was rumored to be due to shooting schedule conflicts as he was juggling an ever-changing Yellowstone schedule with that of his own project, Horizon: An American Saga.
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After unexpected filming delays, Costner chose to leave Yellowstone and focus on the movie series he’d dreamed of making for over thirty years. In recent interviews, Costner made it clear that he would be willing to return to his role as John Dutton under the right circumstances.
“I’ve supported that thing and I’ve loved it. 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 told Variety in mid-June. “Saying there’s a chance, there’s always a chance. I love the thing. You’ve got to be really clear about that.”
On Thursday, June 20, Paramount announced that the remaining episodes of Yellowstone will be available to stream on the network on November 10.
Two days prior, on June 18, Costner told Howard Stern that he would not be on the series’ final episodes. He confirmed the fate of his role on the show in a video statement posted to social media Thursday.
Kevin told fans that he has realized that he won’t be able to continue on Yellowstone due to his work on Horizon, confirming that the episodes scheduled to air this fall with look much different without Costner at the helm.
“I just realized I’m just not going to be able to continue Season 5B or into the future. It was something that really changed me. I loved it. And I know you loved it. And I just wanted to let you know that I won’t be returning, and I love the relationship we’ve been able to develop, and I’ll see you at the movies,” he said.
It is unclear how Taylor Sheridan will handle Costner’s exit and his character’s demise. But, fans will be able to see it all unfold in November.
Watch Kevin Costner’s announcement in the video below.
