Yellowstone Stars and Taylor Sheridan Skip an Event Amidst Rumors of Kevin Costner Leaving the Show

If you thought things were tense on the fictional Dutton ranch on Yellowstone, that's nothing compared to the real life drama that continues to unfold around the future of the show. For weeks now, rumors have circulated that Kevin Costner, who leads the cast as the Dutton family patriarch, John, could be exiting the series in the second half of season 5 which is currently scheduled to debut this summer. Over the weekend, more fuel was added to that fire as Costner, as well as show creator Taylor Sheridan, and most of the core cast opted out of a previously scheduled event at PaleyFest, including an episode screening and panel.

Along with Costner and Sheridan, executive producer David Glasser, Kelly Reilly, Cole Hauser, Luke Grimes, Kelsey Asbille, Wes Bentley, Gil Birmingham, and Jacki Weaver, all of whom had originally been scheduled to participate, were absent from the event on Saturday according to People. Josh Lucas, Dawn Olivieri, Wendy Moniz, and Mo Brings Plenty were ultimately the only cast members involved.

Despite the missing actors, the panel did go ahead, with Paramount Network president of development and production Keith Cox offering some reassurance for fans about Costner's future on the series. "What I can say is our star, the face of our show and the executive producer, are very confident he's going to continue with our show," he said at the event.

Mo Brings Plenty echoed the sentiment, telling The Hollywood Reporter that he's "not worried about anything" because the "right people [are] at the helm." He added, "Kevin is very much a big part of the show and hopefully will continue to be for a very long time."

As for what could become of John Dutton, Lucas, who plays the younger version of the character in flashbacks on the show, said during the panel that he believes that Sheridan "always planned on at some point, having Kevin die and having multiple characters die."

Though it remains unclear what lies ahead for Yellowstone's patriarch, at least one rumor was put to bed last week when Paramount Media Networks head Chris McCarthy confirmed that Matthew McConaughey will indeed be starring in a new spin-off. In February, speculation had surfaced that McConaughey could be joining the Yellowstone cast as a replacement for Costner if the star left the show, but now McCarthy has clarified that the spin-off will be moving forward regardless of whether Costner returns to the flagship show or not.

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