When it comes to TV shows, Yellowstone is one of the most successful shows that have ever been created. Be it cable TV or OTT, Yellowstone has made its mark which is evident by its record of over 16 Million viewers. A huge credit for this show’s success goes to Kevin Costner who appears in the series as John Dutton, the patriarch of the Dutton family and the owner of the Yellowstone ranch. However, there have been reports of him leaving the series. Will Kevin Costner appear in Yellowstone Season 5 Part 2 or has he quit the TV show? Let’s find out.
Kevin Costner Is Not Coming Back for Yellowstone Season 5 Part 2
Even though fans would not have wanted this to happen, Kevin Costner will not be coming back as John Dutton in Yellowstone Season 5 Part 2. He made this decision based on multiple factors that have become a hurdle in his personal growth as an actor and have also prevented him from working on his dream project Horizon: An American Saga. Now, since Kevin Costner was a part of Yellowstone Season 5 Part 1, his absence in Part 2 can make a massive impact on the reception of Yellowstone Season 5 Part 2.
Why Did Kevin Costner Quit Yellowstone?
Kevin Costner left Yellowstone not for just one reason but multiple reasons. These include extremely long shooting schedules, pay disputes and unsatisfactory creative direction. So, let’s talk about each of these disputes for a better understanding of his departure.
First off, shooting a season of Yellowstone took massive amounts of time. The shooting of a season usually starts off in the month of April and extends till October which is roughly five to six months. Sometimes, if the shoot gets delayed for any reason, it could extend to even seven months which is a lot of time for the actors working on Yellowstone. Also, Yellowstone Season 5’s shooting was stripped because of the writer’s strike in 2023 and when it ended, it was delayed more because it’s not ideal to shoot in Montana during the winter season. Kevin Costner, because of this extremely long schedule, was not able to work on Horizon: An American Saga which eventually became one of the reasons for him to leave the project.
Other than this, Kevin Costner also ran into a pay dispute over his character, John Dutton. Kevin was supposed to make $12 Million for his character in Yellowstone Season 5. However, the negotiations went south and he was being offered much less than what was promised to him initially which upset him since this show was taking a lot of his time and was also not letting him work on his dream project as a result of all of this, he decided to walk away.
Now the final reason as far as we know for him leaving the project is the lack of creative direction and artistic liberty for the cast of Yellowstone. Kevin Costner and some other members of the cast wanted Season 5 of Yellowstone to not be divided into two parts but to be made in one single go. However, this suggestion was declined for reasons unknown, upsetting Kevin Costner to the extent of leaving the show permanently.
What Does Yellowstone Showmaker Say About Kevin Costner’s Exit?
After it was confirmed that Kevin Costner was not coming back to Yellowstone, there was still a little hope for the return of John Dutton but it came with a condition. According to reports made by Vulture, Kevin would have come back to the show if he had been granted the power to approve or reject the direction the script of Yellowstone is taking. He wanted to have the final say on the script of the show. However, Taylor Sheridan, the co-creator of Yellowstone is not ready to agree to these terms since he has a reputation for being a lone wolf when it comes to scripting.
Even after this dispute, Taylor Sheridan has made it clear in this very conversation that he has no resentment for Kevin and still respects him. He states that the only thing he can say to feel is disappointment regarding how things came to an end. In his statement, he mentioned-
“My opinion of Kevin as an actor hasn’t altered, his creation of John Dutton is symbolic and powerful … and I’ve never had an issue with Kevin that he and I couldn’t work out on the phone.” – Taylor Sheridan, Yellowstone Co-creator
However, even after being humble with his response, he has some sort of hard feelings that resonated in his conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, where he stated that his opinion of Kevin as an actor is still the same but the way things ended resulted in a mess and tension behind the scenes of Yellowstone. He stated-
“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. [Horizon] 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 Sheridan, Yellowstone Co-creator
Now with that, it is confirmed that Kevin is not returning to Yellowstone anytime soon.
What Does Kevin Costner Say About Leaving Yellowstone Season 5
When it comes to what the actor has to say about him leaving the show, it comes mostly from his court hearing for his child support payment to his ex-wife Christine Baumgartner. He talked all about the previously mentioned issues regarding the schedule, pay, and creative liberty. As reported by People he stated, “I couldn’t help them anymore, we tried to negotiate, and they offered me less money than previous seasons, there were issues with the creative…“
After multiple negotiations, he got fed up and told his rep “Have them pay me whatever number, we came up with a number, and they [Yellowstone] walked away.” When he was asked if he was going to receive a paycheck he responded with “I will probably go to court over it“.
In the same report, it was revealed that Kevin Costner feels really hurt by the fact that he is being looked at as if he was the bad guy in all of this and the entire blame is being put on him by some media houses and some fans. He stated-
I loved the show. I liked the people on the show. I liked what it was about. I love that world… There was a moment where that show for me stopped for 14 months. That’s the fact. I could have done a lot of things in that time, but I wasn’t aware that that [hold-up] was going to happen… I read all the stories. I was disappointed that nobody on their side … ever stepped up to defend what it was I actually did for them. There came a moment where I thought, ‘Wow, when is somebody going to say something about what I have done versus what I haven’t done?” – Kevin Costner
He also made it very clear that he has no hard feelings for Tyler Sheridan and is grateful for the fandom that has supported and loved his character while working on Yellowstone.
How Will Yellowstone Season 5 Work Without Kevin Costner?
As of now, the best way for Yellowstone Season 5 is to write out Kevin Costner’s character, John Dutton but there are certain problems with that as well. Yellowstone Season 5 Part 1 featured John Dutton and writing him off means only one thing, making the character meet his death. Now, that Kevin Costner will not appear in Part 2, his death will have to be made off screen and that is definitely not the death John Dutton deserves after being one of the most legendary characters ever on television.
However, there already are plans for further seasons of Yellowstone but with Kevin gone, it’s an interesting thing to look at how the show will manage to keep the story in line as of now, we don’t know how it’s going to work but let’s wait and see what happens and till then, stay tuned with us for further updates!
Ajith Kumar
