Former Yellowstone star Kevin Costner has shared his blunt reaction to the show’s final season. Costner famously left the hit Western show in the middle of Season 5 to focus on his Horizon: An American Saga films.
Costner addressed the killing off his character John Dutton and the shocking final Yellowstone episodes while speaking to The Daily Mail. The actor and Yellowstone executive producer was dismissive when asked if he had “any thoughts” about the show’s swansong. “I’m not thinking about it. I don’t think I’ve given it any thoughts. We’ll just let it go,” he said. Costner refused to address whether he was in touch with Yellowstone co-star Luke Grimes following the latter’s recent comments about filming the show following Costner’s exit.
“I don’t think I’ve given it any thoughts. We’ll just let it go.”
Kevin Costner Says He’s “Not Thinking About” Yellowstone’s Finale
Grimes recently spoke to Esquire about how Costner’s exit impacted the cast, saying that season five was “the easiest season we’ve filmed.” “Hopefully everyone can see that it was time,” Grimes said of Costner’s Yellowstone exit. “To be really honest, there was a part of Kevin being gone that meant some of the conflict was gone. Obviously, it didn’t make it super fun to be around.”
Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan made the controversial decision to kill off Costner’s character John Dutton following a conflict over filming the hit show. Costner previously accused the Yellowstone team of “moving their gaps” between filming when he was supposed to be working on Horizon: An American Saga. “I haven’t felt good about it the last year, with the way they’ve talked about it. It wasn’t truthful. So now I’m talking a little bit about what the real truth of it was,” he said in May. It was ultimately announced that Costner wouldn’t return at all to film the back-half of season five, leading to John Dutton being killed on screen with a scene that obscured that Costner wasn’t really there for filming.
Yellowstone Wrapped Up Its Fifth and Final Season in December 2024
Costner later appeared on SiriusXM’s The Michael Smerconish Program where he complained about the marketing for Yellowstone’s final season. “I mean, I’ve been seeing ads with my face all over the place, and I’m thinking, ‘Gee, I’m not in that one. I’m not in this season,’” he said in November. “But, I didn’t realize yesterday it was the [airing]. I had, really, my focus has been on what I was having to do, and I got a few calls to me. Sometimes I’m like, just a passenger in my life. You know, there’s a lot going on, and somebody said, ‘You know, it played last night.’ And I said, ‘Hm, okay.’ So, I found out about it this morning, actually.”
While his time with Yellowstone is now over, Costner plans to forge ahead in the Western genre with three more installments of his Horizon: An American Saga movies. There was uncertainty over the franchise’s future when Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 failed at the box office and under-performed with critics, but Costner has since told Variety that he is still moving forward with the sequels. “[We need to] hurry and not let the rock fall back downhill, I gotta go put my hands on it again and start to push it up,” he said, before adding: “I don’t know how I’m going to make Three right now but I’m going to make it.”
Kevin Costner’s Future Following Yellowstone
Kevin Costner Plans to Continue in the Western Genre With Three More Horizon: An American Saga Films
- The conflict between Kevin Costner and Yellowstone producers started over filming schedules, due to Costner’s commitment to his Horizon: An American Saga franchise.
- Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 only made $38 million at the box office earlier this year but has redeemed itself with VOD sales.
- Kevin Costner has already filmed Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2, with the movie premiering at the 81st Venice International Film Festival in September.
- The filmmaker is committed to making a third and fourth Horizon: An American Saga movies.
Yellowstone is available to stream on Peacock. Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2 is expected to debut in 2025, but there is no official release date.
