After leaving the door open for a possible return to YellowstoneKevin Costner informed fans that he will not be reprising his award-winning role as John Dutton. The news comes hours after Paramount announced a Nov. 10 premiere date for the second half of the fifth – and final – season of Taylor Sheridanthe western drama.
Costner, who is in the middle of a promo blitz for Horizon: an American sagathe first of his four epic western films, informed fans of his decision on social media on Thursday.
“I just wanted to reach out and let you know after a year and a half of work Horizon and do all things that are necessary, and think about them Yellowstone, that beloved series that I love, that I know you love. I just realized that I can’t continue season 5b or the future,” he revealed.
“It was something that really changed me. I loved it, and I know you loved it. I just wanted to let you know that I’m not coming back,” he concluded. “I love the relationship we’ve been able to build, and I’ll see you in the movie.
Costner officially put an end to the will-he-or-won’t-he story that has been playing out in the press for more than a year. Speaking Today just five days ago he said he would “love” to return to the series “under the right circumstances.”
Take a look back at how we got to this point.
February 2023: Fans stunned by initial rumblings Costner may not return
Deadline reported that Costner likely left the series due to disagreements over shooting schedules. Sources claimed that the Oscar winner was prioritizing his Horizon films about the series. (He disputes this, but more on that later.) It was a shocking fact Yellowstone‘s Season 5 premiere broke records, as did the midseason finale in January 2023.
“We have no news to report. Kevin Costner is a big part of that Yellowstone and we hope it will continue for a long time,” a Paramount Network spokesperson said in a statement.
A Puck News report outlined the alleged tension between Sheridan and Costner.
April 2023: Yellowstone stars fall out of PaleyFest
Rumors of behind-the-scenes trouble escalated when the series’ lead actors canceled a planned appearance for the media and fans at the last minute. Some of the cast confirmed to Yahoo that the second half of season 5 had not been filmed and that the scripts were still being worked on. Keith Cox, president of development and production at Paramount Network, told the audience that he was “confident” that Costner would return.
June 2023: Taylor Sheridan breaks the silence
Sheridan addressed the rumors to the Hollywood Reporter: “My last conversation with Kevin was that he had a passion project he wanted to direct. He and the network were arguing about when he would be done with Yellowstone. I said, ‘We can definitely work out a schedule [his preferred exit date]’, which we did.”
Sheridan said he was “disappointed” by Costner’s decision to leave. “It curtails the closure of his character. It doesn’t change anything, but it curtails it.”
In the same article, sources close to Costner disputed the claim that he was the one who held up filming because there were no scripts. An insider claimed that Costner was “wrongly portrayed” as someone who prioritized the Horizon films in which he stars and directs. “How can you plan anything if there are no scripts? [Sheridan’s] I’m doing eight other shows,” the insider claimed.
September 2023: Costner directly addresses rumors for the first time
Costner spoke out as part of a child support hearing amid his contentious divorce from Christine Baumgartner. He wanted to return for another season, but said he couldn’t.
“We tried to negotiate, they offered me less money than previous seasons, there were problems with the creative side,” he testified.
Costner would receive twelve million dollars for each part of season 5. Before leaving the show, he told his agents, “Let them pay me whatever song, we came up with a song, and they [Yellowstone] walked away.” He said he will “probably go to court” over whether he will get a payout for the second half of season two.
April 2024: Costner hints that he is open to returning to the series
“I would love to, but we haven’t been able to do it,” he told Entertainment Tonight. ‘I thought I’d make seven [seasons] but now we’re at five. So how it turns out – I hope so – but they have a lot of different shows. Maybe. Maybe this will come back to me. If so and I feel really comfortable with it [it]I would love to do it.”
May 2024: Costner claims it’s not true Yellowstone story
Costner said he was speaking to the press for the first time since the tragedy unfolded and was not prioritizing Horizon about Yellowstone.
“I made a contract for seasons five, six and seven. In February, after two or three months of negotiations, they made another contract. They wanted to do that again, and instead of seasons six and seven it was 5A and 5B , and maybe we’ll do six. Horizon was in the middle, but Yellowstone was the first position. If it [Horizon] closely monitor. They just kept shifting their holes,” he told Deadline.
Costner said he “took a beating from those damn boys and I often know where it comes from.”
“But if you know me well enough, I made it Yellowstone the first priority, and to insinuate otherwise would be wrong. I didn’t initiate any of these things. They did that,” he stated.
June 2024: Costner says he would like to return before confirming his departure
Costner said Today‘s Savannah Guthrie on June 17, he would “love to go back under the right circumstances, I think we all want that.” He added: “There’s always a chance.”
“I love the thing,” he declared. “You have to be very clear about that.”
In an interview with People published on June 19, he lifted the lid on his Yellowstone contract.
“When Taylor first pitched it to me, it was one season and [like] a long movie, that one [is] I speak my language,” Costner explained. He said he happily “went a step further” and said he would do it for three seasons. “I ended up doing it for five seasons.”
Coster said he would have moved on: “There was a point where that show stopped for me for fourteen months… That’s a fact. I could have done a lot of things in that time, but I didn’t know that. [hold-up] was going to happen.”
The actor said he was “disappointed” that no one came to his defense in the press when rumors circulated a year earlier. “There came a point where I thought, ‘Wow, when is someone going to say something about what I do.’ to have done versus what I not finished?'”
On June 20, Costner addressed fans directly, saying he will not return: “I cannot continue season 5b or the future.”
