It’s been a long time coming, and frankly, it’s an announcement that might not shock “Yellowstone” fans in the slightest. After lengthy behind-the-scenes drama left the second half of Season 5 in uncertainty, Kevin Costner has confirmed via Instagram that he will not be reprising his role as the head of the Yellowstone ranch, John Dutton. The actor said in a video, “I want to reach out and let you know that after this long year and a half of working on ‘Horizon’ and doing all the things that that’s required and thinking about ‘Yellowstone,’ that beloved series that I love, that I know you love, I just realized that I’m not going to be able to continue Season 5B or into the future.”
Costner, who has played John Dutton since 2018 and won a Golden Globe for his performance in 2023 as the character, added, “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.”
His Tom Cruise-like closing comment was most likely in reference to “Horizon: An American Saga,” which is set for release on June 28 and hasn’t been met with the warmest of receptions from critics, who didn’t hold back. Now, though, “Yellowstone” creator Taylor Sheridan and the show’s remaining cast can focus on the future and, more interestingly, writing John Dutton out of it.
Does Yellowstone look alright, alright, alright without John Dutton?
With it already confirmed that Kevin Costner wasn’t going to be around for Season 6, all this means is that Taylor Sheridan will have to speed things up a bit and have John’s exit happen a lot sooner. The only question is, how?
Part of Costner’s contract stipulated his character having a moral death clause, ensuring that John Dutton goes out like a boss in a noble fashion rather than suffer an embarrassing exit. A sensible approach would be that following the ending of “Yellowstone” Season 5, Part 1, Jamie Dutton (Wes Bentley) makes an even more dangerous move against his father that could prove fatal. Now, with the exit made official, it could prove to be an event that could help as opposed to hinder the future of “Yellowstone” and the further spin-off plans Sheridan has involving another massive Hollywood star joining the fold.
During the uncertain stages of Costner’s return, it was confirmed that Sheridan was in talks with Matthew McConaughey to lead a spin-off series, “2024,” followed by reports of Michelle Pfeiffer as another A-list co-star. Rumors were rumbling in the bunk house that “Yellowstone” stars Luke Grimes, Kelly Reilly, and Cole Hauser would also return to the Dutton-verse as Kayce Dutton, Beth Dutton, and Rip Wheeler, respectively. Hopefully now that the long-running issue has been put to rest, we might get some clarification on all this before we return to “Yellowstone” on November 10.
