Many people have not forgotten the controversy surrounding Kevin Costner ’s departure from the Yellowstone franchise, and that became very apparent when the series’ official Instagram account wished the former John Dutton star a happy 70th birthday. As you would expect, there were plenty of people ready to roast the gesture, which was branded as a birthday message from Costner’s “ex.”
Costner’s 70th birthday was celebrated by many fans of the actor on social media, but when a post from the Yellowstone account popped up with a simple message and a picture of the actor as the Dutton patriarch, it did not take long for Costner’s fans to start ridiculing the decision to share the message after the fallout of the actor’s Season 5 departure from the show in less than ideal circumstances.
Andrew25evans kicked off the run of comments by replying with the hilarious, “When your ex wishes you a happy birthday.” While there was some joviality in this comment, a follow-up from iamshellyshel was a little more direct, saying, “Y’all did him so dirty the way you sent him off…shame.” C.bowen and freedomtexan1776 both had similar sentiments noting that “TS [Taylor Sheridan] did him dirty.”
There were, though, many others who simply added their own birthday celebrations to the post, avoiding reaping up the divisive fate of John Dutton in the final season of Yellowstone. Obviously, there are still some strong feelings out there over the spat between Costner and Sheridan, but in many ways, neither party was entirely blameless, and a certain amount of stubbornness ultimately saw the two collaborators part ways.
Kevin Costner’s Unexpected Departure Still Hangs Over ‘Yellowstone’
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Even though the series is now over – although sequels and spinoffs galore are still ongoing – the ghost of John Dutton hung over the final season from the moment it returned for the second part of Season 5. Costner’s character met his maker early doors, and things never seemed the same for many fans.
As a show that had barely put a foot wrong across its first four and a half seasons, the return of Season 5 to Paramount for its final episodes saw the series score its lowest Rotten Tomatoes audience rating, and things only grew worse as those disgruntled by pretty much everything Season 5B had to offer continued to drag down the series’ overall rating.
In the end, though, even with discourse running rife around Yellowstone’s finale, the episodes still scored a strong win in viewership, and the controversy did do any harm to Sheridan’s Yellowstone-adjacent plans for the return of 1923, and sequel series The Madison. Additionally, the writer/director/actor’s new series, Landman, has been another runaway success on Paramount+, sitting atop the platform’s TV chart since its debut in November.
Costner, meanwhile, has left Yellowstone behind to concentrate on his own Western movie series, Horizon: An American Saga. After seeing the first movie of the planned four failing to recoup its budget at the box office, the second movie was delayed from its original August 2024 release date and is still to be given a theatrical release. In the midst of this, the future of the franchise is on shaky ground, as Costner has already invested a reported $100 million into the project and is currently trying to get investors to help him finish his ambitious passion project.