John Dutton is undoubtedly Kevin Costner’s most iconic role in his career. While he has starred in and directed some great films, his Yellowstone character remains his most popular among fans. The Dutton patriarch has been a protector of the Yellowstone ranch for over four and a half seasons, with the last half of season 5 yet to start shooting.
Reports started circulating last year about Costner leaving the show after creative differences with series creator Taylor Sheridan. As the lead of the show, Costner reportedly wanted more control over the narrative and fate of his character. However, his co-star Kelly Reilly has a different perspective about what draws her as an actress on the show.
Unlike Kevin Costner, Yellowstone‘s Kelly Reilly Prefers Taylor Sheridan’s Secrecy
After four and a half seasons of Yellowstone, the series’ lead star Kevin Costner, who plays John Dutton, reportedly left the show over money disputes and creative differences with the show’s creator Taylor Sheridan (via People). The two wanted to have control over the show’s narrative going forward and it seems this created some friction between them.
Sheridan is known for working at his own pace and style (via The Hollywood Reporter) and does not reveal every information about a character’s arc to his actors. Kelly Reilly, who plays John Dutton’s daughter Beth Dutton in the show, pointed out this quality about Sheridan and prefers this approach rather than knowing the full arc and twists in the narrative.
Reilly stated in the featurette included in the Blu-ray and DVD release of Yellowstone season five, part one, that she does not have any insight into what happens to her character beyond what Sheridan provides to her. Like fans, she loves the anticipation and the slow unfolding of the narrative. This way of working and approach is extremely exciting for her as an actor. Reilly said (via Digital Spy),
“[I don’t] have any insight into what’s going to happen,” was her caveat. “We’re all sort of beholden to the vision of the storyteller and we serve the story. Who knows what’s going to happen? I find that exciting as an actor.”
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Reilly’s approach is completely different from how Costner operates while working on Yellowstone. The actor even had a moral death clause that details the circumstances in which John Dutton must die ( if he ever does via Puck News). For Reilly, the thrill of being in Yellowstone is not knowing everything and being surprised by the eventual revelations that happen later in the show’s story.
Kevin Costner Originally Wanted To Make 7 Seasons of Yellowstone
Kevin Costner‘s Yellowstone is ending with its fifth season, with the first half airing in late 2022 up to January 2023. The last half will be the show’s swansong, but it seems the original plan was way more than the current one for the show. In a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight, Costner revealed that he wanted to do seven seasons of the show but it got reduced to 5.
He also claimed that some problems have made his return to film the last half of Yellowstone difficult. Nevertheless, Costner stated that he would love to return as John Dutton again if everything goes well. The actor said,
“I’d like to be able to do it but we haven’t been able to. I thought I was going to make seven [seasons] but right now we’re at five. So how it works out – I hope it does – but they’ve got a lot of different shows going on,” he said. “Maybe it will. Maybe this will circle back to me. If it does and I feel really comfortable with [it], I’d love to do it.”
After the end of Yellowstone, a sequel series is in development titled 2024, with Matthew McConaughey set to star. Filming for the last half of Yellowstone season 5 is expected to begin soon as it is scheduled to hit Paramount + in November 2024.