With just a few months left until Yellowstone’s final episodes hit the 2024 TV schedule, everybody behind the scenes is busting their butts to make sure the back half of Season 5 is primed and proper for viewers who waited two full years for the experience. One face that hasn’t been seen in Montana during filming belongs to former star Kevin Costner, who apparently isn’t overly confident that the western drama will work without the involvement of his “genius.”
Costner’s impassioned work on his multi-part frontier epic Horizon: An American Saga was the impetus behind his decision to walk away after Yellowstone’s return to production was delayed several times. And while he’d spoken about potentially wanting to return if he was welcomed back, no such request ever happened, and now it appears as if the Field of Dreams vet is betting against the mothership sticking the landing ahead of future spinoffs without him around.
According to OK Magazine, Kevin Costner’s allegedly fractured relationship with series co-creator Taylor Sheridan has inspired a bit of schadenfreude, with an insider claiming the actor wouldn’t exactly be upset if the Paramount Network hit bungled things up as it hits the final lap. In their words:
It would give him a lot of quiet satisfaction seeing those guys fall flat on their faces for even attempting to breathe fresh life into the show he sees very much as his baby — not theirs.
It’s not entirely clear what kind of “fresh life” will be delivered upon Yellowstone’s long-awaited return in November — and that’s not the only question we have about the remaining eps — but the series will definitely need to explain why Costner’s John Dutton is no longer a constant presence around his family members at his own ranch. One would think Sheridan & Co. would just kill the character off, but that would run the risk of sending the fandom into hysterics.
According to the insider, the Bull Durham vet doesn’t have very much confidence in Yellowstone’s creative team sticking the landing without his own input and expertise. As the outlet put it:
At the end of the day, Kevin thinks the Yellowstone bosses are running around like delusional headless chickens. His bottom line, however egotistical it may sound, is that without his genius — even on a consulting level — it’s not going to work.
“Delusional headless chickens” sounds like it’d be a horror movie threat for those in Paradise Valley, and is certainly a harsh viewpoint for a former series star to allegedly have about his former employers and colleagues. Granted, any sentiments coming from an “insider” should be taken with a grain of salt, but it’s not as if Costner has gone out of his way to heap praise on Taylor Sheridan at any point in the past 18 months or so since the drama came to a head.
Even after Costner officially announced his exit, saying that he wouldn’t be heading back up north to film for Yellowstone’s final episodes, some fans still hoped and half-assumed that it would happen anyway when cooler heads prevailed. But now that Kelly Reilly revealed she wrapped filming in Montana, and is set to film scenes set at the 6666 ranch in Texas, the reality of John Dutton’s absence is harder than ever to ignore.
Will Yellowstone’s BTS turmoil and extended hiatus truly damage the show’s monumental TV and streaming success, or will audiences keep hungrily tuning in to see how the powers that be shaped the conclusion? Considering the franchise already has a new follow-up series starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Patrick J. Adams, the latter definitely seems more likely.
Yellowstone returns to Paramount Network for the final episodes of Season 5 on Sunday, November 10, at 9:00 p.m. ET. All current episodes can be streamed with a Peacock subscription.