There’s still no end to the drama surrounding Yellowstone. As it stands now, Kevin Costner will not be a part of the finale. So what happens to his character, John Dutton?
For Kevin Costner, things could hardly be going better at the moment. A few days ago, his new film Horizon celebrated its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival and was received with thunderous applause. The western epic marks the start of a four-part saga that Costner plans to bring to the cinema in the coming years.
But wait, westerns, wasn’t there something? That’s right: The Costner renaissance started with the western series Yellowstone, which he left for his ambitious Horizon project – and it was about to end! Now many fans are wondering what will happen to the main character he played for several years, John Dutton.
To escape the Yellowstone dilemma: Western star Kevin Costner wanted John Dutton killed
In an interview with GQ, Costner goes into more detail about his Yellowstone exit and also reveals what solution he offered series creator Taylor Sheridan to write his character out of the show
On his exit, Costner says:
We very rarely started [filming] when we said we would, and we didn’t stop when we said we would … That was fine with me, really. I was okay with it, but it wasn’t a trend that could continue for me.
(Kevin Costner in Yellowstone)
From the corona pandemic to the month-long double strike in Hollywood (screenwriters and actors) to scheduling problems, which in turn resulted from the previous two factors: The production of Yellowstone has been interrupted in the past for a variety of reasons.
In the end, Costner approached Sheridan’s team with the following offer:
And then at one point they said to me, ‘We don’t have an ending or anything.’ I then said, ‘Well, if you guys want to kill [John Dutton], if you want to do something like that. I’ve got a week before I start [with Horizon]. I’ll do what you want.
When does the Yellowstone finale start? Will Kevin Costner return? And what happens to John Dutton?
It is still unclear how the Yellowstone story will end for John Dutton. On Monday, Paramount announced that filming has begun on the second half of season 5. No mention was made of Costner’s involvement. The star himself has recently been open about his return. Should this actually happen, it will probably amount to a cameo in the finale.
Read more: This is how much money Kevin Costner has invested in Horizon
The second half of the 5th season of Yellowstone comprises a total of six episodes and is scheduled to start in November 2024 on Paramount Network
