Kevin Costner isn’t quite ready to say goodbye to the Duttons.
Months after his exit from Yellowstone was confirmed, the 69-year-old actor is now making it known that he’s interested in returning to his character, family patriarch John Dutton.
“I’d like to be able to do it but we haven’t been able to,” he told Entertainment Tonight on April 9 when asked about the possibility of continuing the Dutton family story. “I hope it [works out].”
In May 2023, Paramount announced that the Western series would conclude after season 5, but Costner told the outlet he “thought I was going to make seven” seasons of the series instead of “five.”
He noted that “they’ve got a lot of different shows going on,” referring to the multiple spinoff sequels and prequels that have been created from Yellowstone’s success, as a reason behind some of the complications.
“Maybe it will,” he said of Yellowstone continuing past season 5, the second half of which is due to premiere in November. “Maybe this will circle back to me. If it does and I feel really comfortable with [it], I’d love to do it.”
The actor — who first sparked exit rumors in 2023 to make his two-part Western epic, Horizon — also told the outlet what he wants for his character as the chapter closes on Yellowstone.
“He needs to be proactive in what happens,” Costner said, before noting that it’s ultimately in the hands of the show’s creator, Taylor Sheridan. “I’ve kind of had my own fantasy [about] how it might be, but that’s Taylor’s thing. I said as much to him a while back.”
He added, “I had thoughts [about] how it could happen, but we just have to see.”
The last time fans saw the Dutton family on screen was in January 2023, when the final episode of part one of season 5 aired. In November, the Paramount Network set a premiere date for the season’s second half in November 2024, which will mark the show’s conclusion. The network also explained that the writer and actor’s strikes contributed to the delayed return.
It remains unclear how much of Costner fans will get to see onscreen in the new episodes.
The only public statement the actor has made about leaving the show was during a child support hearing in September 2023. At the time, Costner testified that he wanted to return for a sixth season, but despite negotiations, he was offered “less money than previous seasons.”
He also indicated that creative issues contributed to his decision, including that splitting season 5 into two parts involved a “long, hard-fought negotiation” and influenced his exit.
“I couldn’t help them anymore,” he said in the hearing.
Sheridan, 53, told The Hollywood Reporter that he’s “disappointed” by Costner’s exit, which he said “truncates” the “closure of his character.”
“My opinion of Kevin as an actor hasn’t altered,” he told the outlet in June 2023. “His creation of John Dutton is symbolic and powerful … and I’ve never had an issue with Kevin that he and I couldn’t work out on the phone. But once lawyers get involved, then people don’t get to talk to each other and start saying things that aren’t true and attempt to shift blame based on how the press or public seem to be reacting.”
Yellowstone is now streaming on Peacock.