Will Kevin Costner Return for Yellowstone S5 Part 2? The Actor Has His Say

Summary

• John Dutton, Yellowstone's central character, is said to be absent from Part 2 of Season 5.
• In 2023, Yellowstone saw a lot of behind-the-scenes drama.
• Kevin Costner gave an ambiguous answer when asked if he would return to the show.

There are few true giants left on American television these days. FX's cult anthology series American Horror Story is in its twelfth season. CBS' Young Sheldon is coming to an end after its current seventh installment. And Paramount Network's hit Western series Yellowstone will wrap after the second part of Season 5 premieres this November.

Unlike Young Sheldon's ending, Yellowstone's finale may be somewhat problematic as it may not feature the show's central character, John Dutton. Since its 2018 premiere, Taylor Sheridan's Western drama has followed Kevin Costner's character, the patriarch of the Dutton family, who own the largest ranch of the title in Montana, as he and his children run the ranch and strive to protect it and themselves from their many enemies.

But as important as John Dutton is to the plot of Yellowstone, he's rumored to be absent from Part 2 of the final fifth season. Fortunately, Kevin Costner recently shed some light on his character's involvement in Season 5 – sort of…

Yellowstone Behind-the-Scenes Drama

Part 1 of the final fifth season premiered in late 2022. Part 2 was supposed to be released in 2023, but was put on hold due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. In addition, Kevin Costner's divorce and alleged conflict with Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan led the actor to leave the production to focus on his upcoming Western, Horizon: An American Saga.

As a result, John Dutton was left in limbo as it was not clear if Costner would return to Yellowstone to complete his character's story. So much so that it was reported that the writers had drafted several possible endings with varying degrees of John's involvement, some of which didn't feature the character at all.

Kevin Costner on John Dutton's Fate

Strange as it may seem, Kevin Costner doesn't appear to know what awaits John Dutton. But he's certainly ready to return to Yellowstone to say goodbye to his character.

'I'd like to be able to do it but we haven't been able to… I'm not sure how it's being worked out. I've loved making that series. I've made five seasons of it, and I thought I was going to make seven. So, how it works out, I hope it does. But they've got a lot of different shows going on. Maybe this will circle back to me. If it does and I feel really comfortable with [it], I'd love to do it,' the actor said in a recent interview.

Costner admits he has always had his own ideas about how his character's arc should end, but it still depends on Taylor Sheridan and his creative vision. Hopefully, the final episodes of Yellowstone will feature John Dutton, however briefly.

Source: Entertainment Tonight.