No Yellowstone storyline has been more dramatic or enduring than star Kevin Costner walking away from his rumored $3 million an episode gig as John Dutton — the frickin’ lead! I’ll try to pare it down to the basics: the fifth season of Yellowstone was supposed to be the final of the series, and it was split into two parts. The last episode of the first part of Season 5 aired in January 2023. Then the Hollywood strikes happened, and Kevin hit the horizon to film his passion project. Last Sunday, the first episode of the second part of Season 5 aired, and right off the bat they dealt with the exit of Kevin’s character. A day later, Kevin appeared on The Michael Smerconish Program on SiriusXM, and he was more than a bit shady with the way Taylor Sheridan & Co. wrote off John Dutton. Warning: Spoilers ahead!
“Sometimes I’m like just a passenger in my life, you know, there’s a lot going on,” he told host Michael Smerconish. “So no, I found out about it this morning actually.”
He explained that he was not aware that the shocking death was in store for his character, though he suggested “a couple” of “possible endings” for John over the years.
“No, I didn’t see it. I heard it’s a suicide, so that doesn’t make me want to rush to go see it,” Costner said.
But he did defend the team behind Yellowstone despite the fan backlash to his character’s passing.
“Listen, they’re smart people. Whatever they’re doing, they’ll figure it out,” he said.
As Smerconish pressed Costner over whether or not he was “displeased” with John’s fate, Costner simply said, “Maybe it’s a red herring. Who knows? They’re very good. And they’ll figure that out.”
He later denied that he quit Yellowstone at all. He explained that he tried to stay on the show despite it undergoing several changes after Season 5, Part 1. But he said he eventually had to back out because he had his own “obligations” to the crew of “300 people” working on his passion project, Horizon: An American Saga.
“I didn’t really have to leave anything behind,” he said. “There was room, but it was difficult for them to keep their schedule. It seemed to be, it was just too difficult for them to do it.”
“I didn’t leave. I didn’t quit the show,” he outrightly clarified at one point of the interview. He said he “accommodated” them on the unspecified changes they wanted to make to the contracts, but, “finally when they wanted to change it a third time, because I had my obligations to do, I had 300 people waiting for me, I couldn’t help them anymore. I just simply couldn’t help them. But I didn’t quit the show.”
Full disclosure: I have never seen an episode of Yellowstone. I do, however, follow the dramatic plot points that have been playing out off screen by the show’s main characters. Like Taylor Sheridan suing Cole Hauser over similar coffee brand logos, or Forrie J. Smith (what a name!) getting himself kicked off a flight for refusing to sit next to a passenger wearing a mask. So all that plus Kevin Costner’s tense, drawn out exit, and oh my gosh these cowboys are such drama queens! On his character’s death: “They’ll figure it out.” Dude, they killed off your character. What is there to figure out? And I can’t even get into that whole “I’m just a passenger in my own life” malarkey. But I think my favorite moment is Kevin insisting that he did not quit the show, you guys! He simply decided to stop physically showing up and receive a paycheck for the series he was starring in — see the difference?! Look, Kevin may be entirely right that they kept switching contracts and schedules so he decided to honor a prior commitment. But the actions he took are still the definition of quitting.
And of course, lest we forget, the passion project he left Yellowstone for was Horizon: An American Saga, eleventy hours of Civil War-era westward expansion. Boy, did Kevin show them. He had 300 people waiting on him to direct it; if only there had been 300 people who wanted to see it in theaters.
Photos credit: Sabina Spöttel/Future Image/Cover Images, IMAGO/Sabina Spöttel/Avalon, IMAGO/Faye Sadou/Avalon, Getty and via Instagram
I have friends who all love this show, so I have seen episodes when we are together. It is a good show but it’s Kevin that keeps the interest. Going to be curious how they feel about this, I’m certainly not interested in even watching random episodes without him.
Anyone who has paid any attention at all to his career is not surprised. He has always followed his own path, and that has led to some strong successes and some very big losses. As someone who tried to watch Yellowstone, I will say that it went downhill very quickly and was a bizarre mix of very boring and very over-the-top violence and drama. The show does feature some strong acting, but it became unwatchable in my opinion. I also think his explanation of quitting vs. not quitting realistically sums up the results of negotiations that didn’t work out and the show announcing the results of that on its own terms. I can imagine that they were furious but when you hire him as the lead, you gotta expect that he’ll do what he’ll do.
*John Dutton.
And it’s more complicated than just a suicide. The writers did what they could given Kevin’s exit.
It’s also worth noting that Costner has had this passion project in the works for ages, regardless of the quality at the end, I don’t fault him for wanting to see it through. While I understand wanting to honor prior commitments, the season was delayed with the writer’s strike and by then he had other stuff in the works and Yellowstone kept yanking him around.
I love Yellowstone for what it is (cowboy soap opera) but don’t blame Costner one bit for leaving to do other things when there were legitimate logistics standing in the way of him fulfilling all of his obligations.
I love Yellowstone and I think it’s better with Costner in it. One of the major issues was Sheridan was putting all his energy into his 4 sixes ranch, and the 8 other projects going on. And Yellowstone was kept on the back burner. Costner was supposed to have time to direct his film, but the filming schedule on Yellowstone kept changing.
I don’t blame him. While they were waiting to come back to filming, Costner finished his movie. I think Sheridan has a short man complex next to Costner and Houser.
He seems like a major douche.
Yeah Sheridan seems like a huge douche. He apparently really pressured Jeremy Renner past his physical limits post snowplow accident on Mayor of Kingstown.
I love Yellowstone and I think they handled his leaving very well.
I loved Yellowstone in the beginning then everyone became awful quickly — there is literally no one to root for. I haven’t started this season yet and still read the spoiler which tells me I’m kind of over it.
I do think the timing was interesting that all this was going down when he was in the middle of the contested pre-nup divorce.
He wouldn’t be the first man to turn down money to lower his income. On top of he took a bath when Horizon failed.
Nobody walks away from a week or two of work for about 12 million Kevin had on the table.
I know Taylor and Kevin had bumped heads for years. But it seems like there was something on the underbelly going on here also. Kevin is no victim.
Though I do love the universe Taylor Sheridan has spun out from the original. I am eagerly awaiting season 2 of 1923.
The show that ruined Montana. SO MANY IDIOTS moved here thanks to that stupid show, and bought their little 5 acre tract, and a giant stupid pickup truck, and run around in cowboy cosplay outfits. A gallerist friend in Bozeman said she’s had drunken bridesmaid groups stumble into her gallery “looking for my Rip.”
That show can’t yeet itself into the sun soon enough.
(I also hear from my cousins in the reining industry, that Taylor Sheridan has ruined that too. Although he’s brought in so many idiots that it’s easy to offload a not-great horse these days).
Park Co resident who 100% concurs.
Hello Park Co sister!
You do know that Taylor has like 20 spin offs in the works. And allegedly a new Yellowstone spin off with Matthew McConaughey in the lead.
Montana is on the map and it’s not going away anytime soon. You can even rent out the Chief Joseph Ranch, they shoot on that doubles as the Dutton Ranch.
Leme go put on my boots and go find me a Rip! (in all seriousness go look at the actor who plays Rip real wife. Then go look in the mirror, there is no Rip for me lol)
Two inflated male egos butting heads. What do you expect.