Kevin Costner’s portrayal of John Dutton in Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone transformed 21st century TV, and the character is now one of the most famous screen cowboys in television history. That’s why the confirmation of Costner’s exit from the show has caused an internet meltdown as the franchise’s many fans struggle to come to terms with the show’s continuity crisis. Fortunately, Paramount confirmed that the second part of Yellowstone Season 5 will still be released in November 2024 despite Costner’s exit, and now, fans can’t stop wondering what happens to Costner’s character.
Many in the fan base have since accepted the fact that the show will continue without their favorite character, with most of them sharing their opinions on how the show will write out one of the most famous TV characters in history. An offscreen death dominates most conventional arguments on Reddit and other messaging platforms, but other fans also suggest that John Dutton could ride off into the sunset, or, in the worst-case scenario, be recast. However, the fate of the character lies with Taylor Sheridan, so let’s evaluate each fan theory and compare it with what Taylor Sheridan had to say about John Dutton’s fate.
Taylor Sheridan’s comments on Kevin Costner’s exit
“It truncates the closure of his character. It doesn’t alter it, but it truncates it,” Taylor Sheridan told THR back in June 2023 when explaining the impact of Costner’s exit from Yellowstone. His comments suggest that he already had a plan for John Dutton and Costner’s exit is not as catastrophic for the character as many fans thought because the creators always knew that he would leave at some point. Taylor Sheridan also made it clear that he wouldn’t resort to a “car-crash death” for Kevin Costner’s character, meaning the writer will give John Dutton a befitting end.
It is important to remember that Kevin Costner was always part of Taylor Sheridan’s original picture of John Dutton. He confirmed in the THR interview that even when he first pitched Yellowstone as a movie to HBO, called The Godfather in Montana at the time, he recommended Kevin Costner to play the role. Costner’s high-profile exit from the show is therefore a huge disappointment for both Taylor Sheridan and the fans.
The exit has since resulted in a finger-pointing contest as both Sheridan and Costner accuse each other behind the scenes of causing Costner’s exit. According to Sheridan, Costner kept asking to spend less time on the Yellowstone set to focus on his upcoming western trilogy, Horizon. Costner’s camp, on the other hand, accused Taylor Sheridan of keeping Costner waiting as he was too occupied with his many other projects to complete Costner’s scripts on time.
Will Kevin Costner be in the final episodes of Yellowstone?
There are still rumors that Kevin Costner is in discussion with Paramount to shoot a few scenes that will give a befitting conclusion to his character, which would be a welcome outcome for the show. According to Screenrant, one of Costner’s representatives recently approached Taylor Sheridan with the request, although there is no confirmation of a greenlight from Taylor or the network.
With November 2024 first approaching, the filming for the second installment of the fifth season of Yellowstone is set to wrap before the end of the summer which means most of the scripts are already developed. With Sheridan insisting that the show can be completed without Kevin Costner, we believe the window for a Costner cameo appearance in the final episodes of Yellowstone could be shut quickly.
Taylor Sheridan said in his interview with THR that no disagreement between him and Costner couldn’t be solved, so all options are still on the table. The bottom line, however, is that whether Costner appears again in the show or not, John Dutton will still be at the center of the Yellowstone saga so all that matters is how the show explains the patriarch’s fate, especially when he doesn’t appear on the screen anymore.
