The second half of “Yellowstone” season five seems difficult to conceive as any more divisive than it is. After season 5A was broadcast back in 2022, Taylor Sheridan’s wildly successful Western series fell into problems. The Hollywood strikes of the next year combined with actor Kevin Costner’s dissatisfaction with the production schedule meant that “Yellowstone” season 5B became a major source of uncertainty. None of these things have ever happened. According to Costner, he never had the time to devote himself to the “Horizon” saga series of Western productions that have always remained a passion project for this seasoned actor. Not even a script for season 5B of “Yellowstone,” in which he plays John Dutton, owner of a ranch.
So, he took his exit from the series instead of waiting around to find out when or if he would be allowed to film the movie “Horizon: An American Saga-Chapter 1,” which unfortunately tanked at the box office.
But Costner’s perspective only told one side of the tale. Conversely, Paramount and Sheridan argued that the dedication of their star to the “Horizon” films really made it challenging to schedule the second half of “Yellowstone” season 5 and consequently led to delays. This protracted conflict between the two sides made it abundantly evident that there was no love lost between them; moreover, it looked like Costner’s departure was definitive within such turbulence, particularly after Paramount stated that season 5B of “Yellowstone” would mark the last episodes of the series.
Sources confirm that two beloved stars, Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser, have been in talks to lead the charge of a sixth season of “Yellowstone.” So, nothing is set in stone yet, but it seems the show will continue outside of 5B and, probably, beyond Costner. Followers of the program are excited to know how Sheridan will bring season 5B of his neo-Western series to a close without its leading man on board.
Shot and slated to air on 10 November 2024, the shows include scenes where many viewers can expect John Dutton to die before the season ends. But allegedly, Costner isn’t wholly opposed to reprising his role in the series he helped start as the mega-hit it is; so Sheridan looked like he had the option to keep the ranch owner alive.
Kevin Costner has conditions for his Yellowstone return.
Still, “Yellowstone” season 5B will be a type of farewell for the show. This will be a quite different show even if it carries on with a sixth season. Though Taylor Sheridan is claimed to have known the show was running five seasons, and even knowing how it would conclude before the pilot aired, Kevin Costner’s leaving apparently won’t affect the ending of “Yellowstone.” Though Sheridan will have to make sure he gives the character a dignified send-off considering Costner had a unique “moral death” stipulated into his “Yellowstone,” most fans are expecting the Dutton patriarch to kick the bucket in some form. With Costner leaving the show behind, that seems like a safe bet.
Whatever is going to happen has already been confirmed since the second half of season five will soon be on show. Should John Dutton die off in the last episodes, however, Sheridan and Paramount would have lost a chance to bring Costner back into the picture in the next seasons.
Telling Entertainment Tonight he’d “like to be able to do it, but we haven’t been able to,” Costner appears willing enough to have a second bite of the apple in the wake of the show’s star, the network, and Sheridan’s very public falling out. The actor added, “Right now we’re at five; I thought I was going to make seven.”.
Thus, how it turns out—that is, how I hope it does—but there are very many shows running on there. Perhaps that will. Possibly this will come back to me. If it does and I would be quite at ease with [it], I would want to do it.
Thus, it seems the network and Sheridan have to go to Costner, armed with a storyline he finds “comfortable,” so allowing his return as John Dutton. And with the behind-the-scenes conflict, that is unlikely. Costner said, “He needs to be proactive in what happens,” when asked about the end for his character, revealing that he had his “own fantasy how it might be,” then added, “But that’s Taylor’s thing.”
I said as much to him a little while back. Though we only have to watch, I had ideas about how it might happen.”
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FAQs:
1. What conditions must Kevin Costner meet to play John Dutton in Yellowstone?
A. Kevin Costner’s return to Yellowstone depends on resolving scheduling conflicts and meeting specific contractual agreements with the show’s producers.
2. Will Kevin Costner continue to play John Dutton in future Yellowstone seasons?
A. Costner’s involvement is uncertain and hinges on fulfilling key conditions before his return to future Yellowstone episodes.