Amid reports that the Dutton family drama may not be ending with season five, a number of the show’s passionate fans took to multiple social media platforms Tuesday to express their thoughts on the creative turn.
The feedback came as Deadline confirmed that ‘negotiations are underway for a sixth season’ – despite Paramount+ previously announcing the end of Taylor Sheridan’s hit Western.
On the show, Costner has played the role of John Dutton, Kelly Reilly has portrayed Beth Dutton and Cole Hauser has played Rip Wheeler.
Emphasizing that the deal is still up in the air, sources told Deadline a sixth season would center on Reilly and Hauser’s characters in the wake of Costner’s dramatic exit from the neo-Western drama.
A number of fans took exception with the potential creative directions the popular series could take, with many emphasizing Costner’s importance to the story of the show.
‘There is no Yellowstone without Kevin Costner,’ said one user, while another said, ‘No Costner? NO WAY!’
One fan said, ‘Without Costner, it’s Yosemite’ while another said of the series, ‘It’s over without him.’
Said one fan: ‘Season 4 was already pretty bad and without Kevin Costner it will be even worse.’
Another advised that producers ‘should wrap it up this season’ and that there is ‘no need for a 6th season.’
One user predicted that ‘it’s not going to work’ without Costner’s involvement, and that the show should end things before things fall off a creative cliff.
‘Without John Dutton, there is not a main character holding them all together to save the ranch,’ the user said. ‘Beth gets on everyone’s nerves and how many more people can Rip take to the train station? Let it stop. Please.’
Another fan echoed a similar sentiment, saying, ‘They should wrap it up after this season … no need for a sixth season.’
A fan said that Costner’s departure from the series ‘seems like a big missed opportunity’ from a creative perspective.
Not all fans were opposed to the show moving forward focusing on Reilly and Hauser’s characters, expressing interest as to what the creative possibilities could be.
‘I hope it’s true,’ one fan said. ‘I’m all in for a Beth and Rip spinoff/sequel/YS season 6…whatever it is now.’
Said another: ‘I love me some Beth and Rip make no excuses let’s get it done.’
Fans also speculated on the fate of the Jamie Dutton character, played by Wes Bentley.
‘Why watch the rest of season 5 at this point?’ a fan said on Reddit. ‘If rip and Beth get a spinoff then the only question that remains is how Jaime dies. Who cares?’
Another said that the show’s ending was akin to the controversial finish of the HBO series Game of Thrones.
‘Yea, it’s another GoT situation,’ said one fan. ‘Although they didn’t completely ruin the entire show. At least I hope not.
‘The drama with Jamie and Beth should have been resolved one way or another a long time ago. I hope Jamie doesn’t die. If Beth and Rip move to another state perhaps they are on the run or banished by Jamie.’
Another fan compared the show’s conclusion to that of The Walking Dead on AMC: ‘It meant that none of the main characters were in any sort of peril, since they survived for their own shows. I was far less interested in the last few episodes for that reason.’
The latest report comes after the on-screen couple were reportedly in talks of joining the Yellowstone spinoff The Madison, starring Michelle Pfeiffer.
In April, when asked about the possibility of a sixth season, Reilly told RadioTimes: ‘I just care about finishing [Yellowstone] with as much care and as much passion and as much love as I can muster to put into it… I’m sort of prepping for that now, [and] that’s my tunnel-vision thing that I care about most.’
‘And what goes on beyond that? There are discussions, you know. Don’t believe everything you read. It’s just nonsense,’ she continued.
Season 5B, which premieres on November 10, was originally announced as Yellowstone‘s last installment; in June, Costner confirmed that he was done with Yellowstone for good.
The 69-year-old actor told his Instagram followers that he would not returning for an appearance for season 5B.
‘Hi everyone. I just want to reach out and let you know that after this long year and a half of working on Horizon and doing all the things that’s required, and 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 5b or into the future,’ Costner announced somberly while gazing into the camera.
Previous reports indicated that Costner was likely done for good with the series after conflicts between himself and producers over pay, his schedule and his availability to film his multi-part Western epic Horizon: An American Saga.
But fans held out hope that he might at least return to find a dignified ending for his patriarch John Dutton III, but his new video has seemingly dashed those hopes for good.
‘It was something that really changed me,’ Costner said of the Paramount Network series. ‘I loved it, and I know you loved it. I just wanted to let you know that I won’t be returning.’
The actor and director concluded with what may have been an entreaty for his fans to see his upcoming Horizon films.
‘I love the relationship we’ve been able to develop, and I’ll see you at the movies,’ he said as a slight smile crossed his lips.
The announcement means that Costner’s final run of episodes were for season 5A, which aired from November of 2022 to January of 2023.
His character, the patriarch of the Dutton family, ran the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch, a fictional ranch that was the largest in Montana.
It bordered Yellowstone National Park and the Broken Rock Indian Reservation, which often put the wealthy family at odds with their Native American neighbors and greedy developers looking to snatch up their land.
The primetime soap has been particularly popular among fans who applauded its so-called anti-woke politics, though the series is often critical of its main family, who have murdered multiple people to secure their land and fortune.
Before shutting the door on the possibility of returning for season 5B, Costner butted heads against producers, as he reportedly wanted to shoot fewer days for the season to accommodate filming of Horizon.
Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter One was released in theaters on June 28. Its sequel will be released September 7, 2024. He has already begun film Chapter Three, and already stated that he plans to films Chapter Four concurrently.
Costner has disputed reports of the nature of his disagreements over Yellowstone, and he complained that the show’s producers declined to defend him amid reports he disagreed with.
The actor has also denied that his issues with the series were due to his Horizon filming schedule.
He has said that he was ready to return to film season 5B, but the scripts for the second half of the season had allegedly not been written in time.
Some fans and critics have pointed the finger and showrunner and co-creator Taylor Sheridan, who has written all of the show’s scripts since season three.
Sheridan is also the showrunner, writer and director of multiple Yellowstone spinoffs, as well as several other shows he has created for Paramount and its streaming service Paramount+.
Costner also had the additional aggravation during his downtime of his divorce from his wife Christine Baumgartner, during which the two battled in court over their prenuptial agreement and financial support she was requesting.