Kevin Costner Leaves the Door Open for ‘Yellowstone’ Return

KEVIN COSTNER IS done with everyone blaming him for his Yellowstone exit. Since rumors of his departure from Paramount+'s flagship show surfaced in May 2023, Costner's reported scheduling and financial demands, along with shifted focus to other projects, have been painted as the catalysts for his controversial removal. In a recent GQ cover story interview, the 69-year-old actor gives his side of the story and explains the possibility of him returning to Yellowstone.

When the entertainment world was knocked off its saddle, finding out Costner was reportedly leaving Yellowstone, Paramount Network knocked the second wind out of us by announcing that the show would end after its fifth season. Four months later, Costner confirmed he would be leaving Yellowstone after finding out the final season would be split into two parts. Not only would that have interrupted his busy schedule, which included filming the Cannes-favorite, four-part film franchise Horizon: An American Saga, but it would reportedly see him receiving a significant pay cut, according to Costner. He threatened to sue to get all his money, and rumors swirled that he only wanted to work for one week. For nearly a year, it looked like there was no way we'd see the head of the Dutton family back on TV.

Then, in his recent interview, Costner cryptically left the door open for his return to Yellowstone. Intentionally not saying much, Costner said only he and Yellowstone co-creator Taylor Sheridan know what it'll take to bring him back. "Taylor and I know what the conditions are for coming back, and I’ll just keep that between ourselves.”

He did hint at what those mysterious conditions would be later in the interview. One of his biggest contentions was over scripts for Yellowstone Season 5, Part 2 not being available to him when they were in production or Season 5. According to Costner, he was told the show didn't have an ending by the time he had to leave the show, even though he offered a quick solution to that problem: Kill his character off. At the time, he only had one week to shoot everything for Yellowstone before he went to start filming for Horizons. Now, Costner simply wants to agree on how his character will ride off into the sunset.

"I want to make sure that the character lines up with what’s important to me, too. And that’s pretty simple. That’s just between, again, Taylor and myself. Can we ever get there? I don’t know.”

Costner admits that COVID and the writers' strike played major roles in hamstringing the Yellowstone production schedule, stating, "We very rarely started when we said we would, and we didn’t finish when we said we would." But, to him, the growing Yellowstone universe of spinoffs and "other shows became more important" to Paramount. He just wished the network and colleagues he helped create the most popular show on TV would've defended him and set the record straight on all he did to try to make his involvement in Yellowstone Season 5 work.

The finale episodes of Yellowstone are currently being filmed in Montana. Only time will tell if Sheridan and Costner make up in time for John Dutton to give fans a proper farewell. At least we know it's gone from no shot to simply a long shot.

You Might Also Like

• The Best Hair Growth Shampoos for Men to Buy Now

• 25 Vegetables That Are Surprising Sources of Protein