For more than a year, Yellowstone fans have been waiting for the hit western drama to return to production for Season 5’s final episodes. And for a large portion of that time, Kevin Costner hasn’t been in the conversation, with his series exit being reported following the behind-the-scenes chaos sparked by scheduling issues. Now, with his upcoming feature opus Horizon: An American Saga set to hit theaters this summer, the Oscar winner now sounds as if he is (and has been) raring to get back to playing John Dutton.
That’s right, even though a lot of the discussion around Yellowstone’s final season has hovered around the idea that Costner self-imposed his own exit, it doesn’t sound like he was harboring a lot of that responsibility when speaking to Entertainment Tonight at this year’s CinemaCon. In fact, he goes so far as to say he’s hopeful to close out John Dutton’s storyline, though without actually confirming that he’s once again signed on. Here’s how he put it:
I'd like to be able to do it but we haven't been able to. I thought I was going to make seven [seasons] but right now we're at five. So how it works out -- I hope it does -- but they've got a lot of different shows going on. Maybe it will. Maybe this will circle back to me. If it does and I feel really comfortable with [it], I'd love to do it.
As an esteemed Hollywood favorite for decades now, Kevin Costner obviously isn’t going to use his platform to take potshots at Taylor Sheridan & Co. for whatever actually went down that led to all the communication breakdowns and the prolonged delay in going back to filming. (Which, to be fair, was also hindered by the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.) But I can’t say I expected Costner to immediately make himself sound agreeable and available to get back to work in Montana.
When it comes to the idea of how John Dutton’s story will end, the actor and filmmaker confirmed that he had his own thoughts on the matter, and that he expressed those suggestions to co-creator Taylor Sheridan. But he also acknowledged that his input may not influence the final decisions. In Costner’s words:
Well, you know, he needs to be proactive in what happens and I've kind of had my own fantasy how it might be, but that's Taylor's thing. I said as much to him a while back. I had thoughts how it could happen, but we just have to see.
News of the Yellowstone star’s potential return first made waves in late March, though without any substantiation, but with Costner now speaking those words into the ethers, it all seems far more realistic than it did previously. We’d gotten fairly used to the idea that the show could close out without him, especially if Josh Lucas returned to fill the gaps, but if there’s a chance the Dances with Wolves helmer can show up to complete John Dutton’s arc himself, then that’s always going to be the ideal option.
But as it’s gone, the question still remains whether or not Sheridan and others on the producer side will seal the deal to get Costner back on board for the final episodes, which still haven’t started filming yet. The goal was for production to begin anew in the spring, and one can only hope that negotiations with series leads won’t prolong things even further. It was reported earlier in 2024 that Yellowstone’s Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser were potential holdouts for the previously ordered sequel series, but that reportedly wouldn't have affected their presence in the remaining episodes of the flagship drama.
Now the wait for production to start up again should be all the more exciting as we wait to see whether or not Kevin Costner will indeed return. While waiting, all current episodes of Yellowstone are available to stream with a Peacock subscription, and the first Horizon feature is set to hit theaters on June 28, 2024.
