One of the most popular series on Netflix in recent years is Yellowstone. It stars Kevin Costner in the role of John Dutton, who is a rancher fighting to protect his land located in Montana.
Yellowstone has been around since 2018 and Costner has been a constant part of it for the 53 episodes since then. Something interesting happened recently, however, and he decided that he wouldn’t be returning for the second half of season five.
Before season 5B got started on November 10, 2024, Costner was asked how he would describe his character, especially since he wasn’t in the trailer. He said: “His presence is integral. I think to say any more than that would potentially compromise all the work that went into redacting the scripts!
“But I think the reason people are wondering, ‘Is he, isn’t he? Where is he, where is he not?’ is because he is the patriarch, and his presence is an essential component to the story. John Dutton is still central.”
Over the years, a considerable amount of work has gone into building the roles in the show. When director Christina Voros was asked if the scripts were kept private because Costner was exiting, she said that it was part of it, but also there was a significant and unexpected conclusion involved.
She said: “The cast this year, after seven years of shooting this show, has grown into these roles so deeply that the performances are really next level.”
She also spoke about the actors, and they have invested a lot of time into building the roles. She said: “The performances this year are just exceptional.”
As far as Costner was concerned, there were some issues involving his schedule. At first, he had put aside 65 days for filming Yellowstone but he wanted to reduce it to 50 days and season five.
It seems as if Costner wanted to work on more personal projects and put Yellowstone on more of a back burner. He was asked about his position with Yellowstone and how he balanced it with other commitments. He admitted: “Well, I haven’t felt good about it the last year, what with the way they’ve talked about it. It wasn’t truthful.”
He went on to say that his original contract was to cover five and up to seven seasons. When it was renegotiated in 2024, it was only associated with season 5A and 5B. There may have been the six season associated with it as well.
Costner said: “I’m so thrilled to be going there. And listen, I don’t want to get down in the gutter with the ‘Yellowstone’ thing, but what I’m telling you is straight up.”
“But if you know me well enough, I made ‘Yellowstone’ the first priority, and to insinuate anything else would be wrong. I did not initiate any of those things. They did. They were doing a tap dance, and this poor guy was also having to write so much.”
He did say he wasn’t sure why the team didn’t get behind them on the issues but he decided he wasn’t going to dwell on that. He said: “They’ve been pretty slick about keeping their hands off; nobody was ever on the record.”
He went on to say: “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. 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 kill me or whatever else, I can give you a week.'”
He did announce that he would be departing from Yellowstone in an Instagram video. He said: “I just realized that I’m not going to be able to continue Season 5B or into the future.
“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.”
Things may be changing, but we look forward to seeing more of him in the movies. Good luck with your future endeavors!
