Kevin Costner Makes It Official: He’s Not Returning To ‘Yellowstone’
Kevin Costner in 'Yellowstone' Paramount
Hours after the Paramount Network revealed the return date for the final episodes of Yellowstone, Kevin Costner ended all speculation about his possible return by announcing via social media that he, in fact, is not coming back.
He introduced his video post on Instagram by saying “An update for you guys. I’ll see you at the movies.”
Earlier Thursday, Paramount revealed that the second half of the fifth and final season of the Taylor Sheridan series will premiere Sunday, November 10 at 8 p.m. ET/PT. The announcement made no mention of whether patriarch John Dutton would be a part of these final episodes; instead, fans had to seek out recent interviews with Costner to see whether he said anything about returning to the show that helped to revive his career six years ago.
And boy has Costner been saying a lot, lately. In a recent interview with People, the actor expressed disappointment that none of his former co-stars came out in his defense when the original narrative surrounding his absence was blamed on his Horizon: An American Saga film schedule.
“I read all the stories,” he said. “I was disappointed that nobody on their side… ever stepped up to defend what it was I actually did for them. There came a moment where I thought, ‘Wow, when is somebody going to say something about what I have done versus what I haven’t done?’”
Costner also said that he would be open to returning to finish up the Yellowstone saga, but it would have to be under certain conditions.
“I’ve always felt that…It might be an interesting moment to come back and finish the mythology of this modern-day family,” he said. “And if that happens, I would step into it if I agreed with how it was being done.”
In May, Costner told Deadline’s Mike Fleming that he made a contract to play Dutton for seasons five, six and seven.
“After a two- or three-month negotiation, they made another contract, he said at the time. “They wanted to redo that one, and instead of seasons six and seven, it was 5A and 5B, and maybe we’ll do six. They weren’t able to make those. Horizon was set in the middle, but Yellowstone was first position. I fit [Horizon] into the gaps. They just kept moving their gaps.”
Costner went on to say he lived up to the “truth of the contract.” He said he never shot the second half of season five because “there was no script. And then things imploded.”
More to come…