For months and months, we’ve been talking about Kevin Costner, his alleged drama with Yellowstone, and whether or not he’ll return as John Dutton for the final episodes of Taylor Sheridan’s drama when it premieres on the 2024 TV schedule. Well, while we still don’t know if the actor is returning, I’ve concluded that the show would actually be better if he didn’t come back. And, before you take me to the Train Station over this take, hear me out.
There’s A Lot Of Drama Surrounding Kevin Costner And Yellowstone
You can stream Yellowstone with a Peacock subscription, and if you want to check out its spinoffs and Taylor Sheridan’s upcoming shows, you can watch them with a Pramount+ subscription.
So, we really don’t know much about Kevin Costner’s involvement in the final episodes of Yellowstone. However, it’s been heavily reported that scheduling issues have been at the crux of his issues with returning to the show for the final episodes. We also haven’t heard anything concrete about him coming back. Therefore, it seems highly likely that Costner will not return for Season 5’s final episodes.
Also, while it seems highly likely the John Dutton actor won’t be back, the actor who plays the younger version of the Yellowstone’s patriarch in flashbacks, Josh Lucas, said he wants to return as part of the Yellowstone cast, and that he’s had conversations with Taylor Sheridan about coming back. Therefore, if Costner is gone, his character likely won't be, because the Western relies on flashbacks frequently.
With all this being said, it seems like John Dutton will be written off in the present, and we’ll likely get flashbacks of him. I think this would honestly be the best way to proceed with the show too, especially considering how twists that involve the main character dying have impacted incredible dramas like Game of Thrones and Succession for the better.
Like Major Deaths In Succession And Game Of Thrones, John Dutton's Death Could Change Everything
Across television history, there are many points we can point to where viewers stopped and gasped out for pure shock, because what they just witnessed changed the trajectory of the show forever and for the best.
Game of Thrones wreaked havoc when they killed off Ned Stark, the main character at the time, at the beginning of Season 1. However, his death was the inciting incident that impacted the rest of the acclaimed fantasy. His death (along with Robert Baratheon's) started the battle for the Iron Throne, and his legacy was felt through the final episode.
Then, Succession killed off Logan Roy, the patriarch of the Roy family, in the game-changing third episode, “Connor’s Wedding,” in the final season. That's right, this happened not at the end of the season, but in the middle of it when no one was expecting anything. His death added a whole new level of drama and intrigue to the show as his kids fought over who had the right to be their father’s successor.
Both these situations left viewers in a frenzy, and they made their shows better, because they subverted expectations and forced their characters into situations both them and the viewers couldn’t have fathomed.
Yellowstone has the opportunity to do the same thing. John Dutton dying would break the show out of this circular battle it’s been in to constantly save the ranch, per the patriarch's order, because said patriarch won't be there to give said order. Therefore, it would set up an emotional and likely tense situation between Luke Grimes’ Kayce Dutton, Kelly Reilly’s Beth Dutton, Cole Hauser's Rip Wheeler and Wes Bentley’s Jamie Dutton as they are forced into a battle for their desired outcome for the ranch.
Yellowstone’s Focus Would Be On The Kids, But John Dutton’s Legacy Will Impact The Show Greatly
In every season of Yellowstone, the focus has been almost always equally spread between John, Kayce, Rip, Beth and Jamie. However, since we know the end is coming and there is no clear successor, I think the ranch’s patriarch dying of re-emerged cancer or being killed in some sort of battle would up the stakes for the final episodes significantly.
Throughout the show, we’ve seen John struggle to figure out who will take over the ranch after he’s gone. Plus all the kids have different feelings about what to do with the ranch – Jamie is trying to sell it, Beth and Rip are trying to keep it for her dad, and Kayce (who is probably the best option for a successor) doesn’t want it. John deeply impacts every decision these characters make, and his being gone would put us in uncharted territory.
If their father were to die, it would force them to figure out who gets the ranch – likely adding fire to Jamie and Beth’s feud, re-emphasizing the impact Rip has had even though he's not biologically related to the Duttons, and forcing Kayce to come to terms with his place on this ranch. It would create a totally new dynamic we’ve never seen in Yellowstone before, because John Dutton wouldn’t be around to call the shots, and that’s something I really want to see.
Through flashbacks that feature Josh Lucas’ younger John Dutton, we could see more of the kids’ pasts with their father, and that could help inform their actions in the present. Yellowstone has always been good about using the past to add meaning to the present, and I think these would become even more powerful if the patriarch is gone in the current day. Not only that, it would highlight the legacy of the powerful Dutton, and I think it would help the final episodes of Season 5 pack a really hard punch.
Overall, I genuinely believe that the best move for Yellowstone is to write off John Dutton. We’ve seen it work exceptionally well on critically acclaimed dramas like Game of Thrones and Succession. Plus, considering all the alleged drama between Kevin Costner and the modern Western, this feels like the easiest and best way to resolve the story whether the actor wants to be in the show or not.
