Kevin Costner has weighed in on the death of John Dutton.
The Oscar winner, 69, broke his silence after his “Yellowstone” character was killed off in the Season 5, Part 2 premiere that aired Sunday night.
“Well, I’m going to be perfectly honest. I didn’t know it was actually airing last night,” Costner said on SiriusXM’s “The Michael Smerconish Program” on Monday.
“That’s a swear-to-God moment. I swear to God,” he went on. “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. But I didn’t realize yesterday was the thing. Somebody said, ‘It played last night?’ And I said, ‘Hmm, okay.’ So no, I found out about it this morning actually.”
At the start of the episode, John Dutton is found dead from a gunshot wound. His death is initially believed to be suicide.
However, it is later revealed that John was murdered in a plot orchestrated by lawyer Sarah Atwood (Dawn Olivieri), who is sleeping with Jamie Dutton (Wes Bentley).
Costner — who confirmed his exit from the show after filming only the first half of Season 5 — said in Monday’s interview he didn’t know how the show would handle his character’s fate.
“I heard what it was, but no, they’re smart people,” he said. “Whatever they’re doing, they’ll figure it out. But yeah, I had come up with two possible endings back when it wasn’t going to go as long as it did go.”
When asked how he felt about John’s death, Costner said, “I didn’t see it. I heard it’s a suicide. That doesn’t make me wanna rush to go see it.”
“They’re pretty smart people. Maybe it’s a red herring,” Costner added. “They’re very good. They’ll figure that out.”
Costner also addressed claims that he quit “Yellowstone” for his new Western film series, “Horizon.”
“I didn’t really have to leave anything behind. There were the gaps that were there,” he explained. “There was contractual things that would allow for both things to be done, but because both things were contractual, you had to make room for the other thing. There was room, but it was difficult for them to keep their schedule. It was just too difficult for them to do it.”
He continued, “There was the time there, what happened, you can deal with it. But I didn’t leave. I didn’t quit the show. OK? I had made a contract to do all three. There was a contract in place to do all three. And within about an eight-month period, two more different kind of contracts were being negotiated. Not at my request, but at their request to try to do things.
“I accommodated them on those extra two things that changed — things change — and 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,” Costner went on. “I just simply couldn’t help them. But I didn’t quit the show. There was no … you know, everybody has to live up to what they say they’re going to do. And it doesn’t matter what business you’re in.”
News broke in May 2023 that Costner would not return to “Yellowstone” after Season 5, Part 1.
That same month, it was announced that the show would end with Season 5, leading to speculation that, without Costner, the series would no longer move forward.
The “Dances With Wolves” star later told Deadline that the Paramount Network show had “first position” in his list of priorities, despite series creator Taylor Sheridan suggesting Costner quit the show to both star in and direct the “Horizon” movies.
Costner also insisted that the speculation about what was happening behind the scenes, including a rumored feud with Sheridan, 54, “wasn’t truthful.”
In June, Costner officially confirmed he was done with the show.
“Thinking about Yellowstone, that beloved series that I love, that I know you love. I just realized that I’m not going to be able to continue, Season 5 or into the future,” he said in an Instagram video.
“I loved it and I know you loved it. I just wanted to let you know that I won’t be returning,” he added.
Viewers were upset over how the show handled Costner’s exit in the Season 5, Part 2 premiere. They slammed Sheridan on social media and argued that Costner’s character deserved a better ending.