Yellowstone’s Kevin Costner could be making a comeback as the final season’s conclusion remains in the works.
Season five, part one, aired on Paramount Network from November 2022 to January 2023, with the second half delayed due to reports of tension between Costner and creator Taylor Sheridan.
There had been talks that it was due to “scheduling conflicts” as the John Dutton star works on his Western film trilogy Horizon with Costner stating he wouldn’t be back for the second half.
Paramount Network then confirmed in May last year that season five would be its last with Costner claiming in his 2023 court documents relating to his divorce from Christine Baumgartner that he had “concluded his work” on Yellowstone.
Since then, however, Puck reported that Costner had been allegedly telling people that he would be in the final lot of episodes, even if it was just for a cameo.
It also stated that Sheridan hadn’t written Costner into the remaining scripts but how the patriarch’s story will come to close is still up in the air.
An insider informed Us Weekly: “They’ve internally discussed going a couple different ways with the story line if Kevin doesn’t return.
“[Cocreator Taylor Sheridan] could incorporate a big event to explain the disappearance, or there’s a calculative move to protect his family from an enemy.”
The source also said that if Costner isn’t involved, the episodes will likely “focus more on the children and ranch hands and their relationships, conflicts and alliances.”
Last year, Sheridan stated that there was no bad feelings between him and Costner to The Hollywood Reporter.
“My opinion of Kevin as an actor hasn’t altered,” Sheridan commented.
“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.”
At the end of the season five midseason finale, Jamie Dutton (played by Wes Bentley) was calling for his dad’s impeachment.
Meanwhile, John seemed ready to work with his daughter Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) to have Jamie murdered.
With so much of the final main storylines revolving around John, Costner’s lack of presence in Yellowstone could be an issue in bringing the drama to a satisfying close.