Kevin Costner Confirms He’s Not Returning to Yellowstone

Kevin Costner is officially done with Yellowstone.

“I just want to reach out and let you know that after this long year and a half of working on Horizon and doing all of the things that’s required, and thinking about Yellowstone, that beloved series that I love and I know you love,” Costner said in a video shared via X late Thursday, June 20.

He continued, “I just realized that I’m not going to be able to continue season 5B or into the future. It was something that really changed me. I loved it. And I know you loved it. 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.”

An update for you guys. I’ll see you at the movies. pic.twitter.com/DpuC5cOP6F

— Kevin Costner & MW (@modernwest) June 21, 2024

Costner’s official confirmation of his Yellowstone departure comes just hours after Paramount Network announced that the final episodes will premiere on Sunday, November 10, at 8 p.m. ET after a lengthy delay. The first half of season 5 concluded in January 2023.

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Costner’s involvement in the second half of season 5 has been unclear, but he was not mentioned in Paramount’s announcement on Thursday.

Costner previously denied that his Yellowstone exit was the result of a feud with show creator Taylor Sheridan or his busy schedule with the four-part Horizon saga, the first of which hits theaters on June 28.

“I have taken a beating from those f–king guys and I know a lot of times where it’s coming from,” he told Deadline last month of the rumors. “I just elected not to get into that. But if you know me well enough, I made Yellowstone the first priority, and to insinuate anything else would be wrong. I did not initiate any of those things. They did.”

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Costner continued, “I left exactly when they wanted, and it made it hard on me. It turns out they didn’t have the scripts for 5B. They needed four more days just to complete the first eight episodes. I left early to give them what they needed to have a complete eight, and I felt bad that the audience didn’t get 10.”

Despite the drama behind the scenes, Costner has said he would be willing to return to the role of John Dutton.

“If I like the story [and] where it was going, I would go back,” he said during a Sunday, June 16, interview with CBS Sunday Mornings. “I did everything that I was contracted to do with Yellowstone.”