Kevin Costner confirmed in a video shared to Instagram on Thursday evening (June 20) that he will not return to the hit series Yellowstone.
Costner has starred as John Dutton in the hit Paramount+ series, which premiered in 2018. The Western drama follows “a ranching family in Montana (facing) off against others encroaching on their land,” per its description on IMDb. The show also stars Kelly Reilly, Wes Bentley, Luke Grimes — who released his self titled debut album earlier this year — and others. Reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year Lainey Wilson also made her acting debut on the show. Yellowstone is set to film the second half of its fifth and final season. The second half of season 5 is set to premiere on Sunday, November 10, per Paramount officials.
“I just wanna reach out and let you know that after this long year and a half of working on [Horizon: An American Saga], and doing all the things that that’s required, and thinking about Yellowstone — that beloved series that I love, that I know you love — I just realize that I’m not going to be able to continue season 5b or into the future,” Costner said in his update on Instagram. “It was something that really changed me. I loved it, and I know you loved it. And I just wanted to let you know that I won’t be returning. I love the relationship we’ve been able to develop, and I’ll see you at the movies.”
“Kevin has been a big part of Yellowstone's success,” a Paramount spokesperson said in a statement shared by Entertainment Tonight and other news outlets. “While we had hoped that we would continue working with him, unfortunately, we could not find a window that worked for him, all the other talent and our production needs in order to move forward together. We respect that Kevin has prioritized his new film series and we wish him the best.”
Costner wrote, directed and stars in Horizon: An American Saga, a Western drama that “chronicles a multi-faceted, 15-year span of pre-and post-Civil War expansion and settlement of the American west,” its description reads. The cast also includes Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, Jena Malone and others. Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1 is due to release at the end of this month.
Yellowstone fans speculated about Costner’s future on the show, particularly after reports of alleged conflict between the actor and show creator Taylor Sheridan. Grimes previously said in an interview with The Independent about his co-star’s departure: “Whatever happened there is unfortunate if it’s changed anything about how the show was going to unfold. I know, [Costner] got busy with his movies that were like passion projects [the newly announced Horizon: An American Saga for one]. At a certain point, you gotta do what you gotta do, man; you gotta do what you love.”