Josh Lucas calls Kevin Costner irreplaceable on Yellowstone

Josh Lucas, who portrays a young John Dutton on Yellowstone, has nothing but respect for his veteran counterpart played by Kevin Costner, saying he’s irreplaceable in the role.

At the PaleyFest this past weekend, Lucas quasi-addressed the drama surrounding Kevin Costner’s role on the smash Paramount Network western Yellowstone. Although he didn’t go into too many details, he did note that it would be an impossibility to replace Kevin Costner, citing the bond between the actor and Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan. “Taylor has become and Kevin has become John Dutton and John Dutton is as filled with Taylor Sheridan as it is with Kevin Costner. And so for me it’s finding those connective tissues…So the audience sees that, and it’d be very easy to dismiss anyone playing John Dutton except for Kevin Costner.”

Lucas also suggested that both Sheridan and Costner owe it to Yellowstone fans to press on, no matter what turmoil may or may not be brewing within the Dutton ranch. “[There’s] the responsibility of a huge movie star and a brilliant writer who are putting a lot of crazy love and pressure on each other and the show to make something that people love. There’s a reason why people love it.”

The drama surrounding Kevin Costner on Yellowstone stems from the actor reportedly only being willing to work for one week to shoot all of his scenes for the second part of season five. While this claim has been slammed by those in the know (“The idea that Kevin was only willing to work one week on the second half of Season 5 of Yellowstone is an absolute lie.”), there have also been reports that the production could be stalled due to Costner’s alleged demands.

Of note, Lucas was only made available for the Yellowstone event due to Sheridan, Costner and more dropping out, something the press wasn’t made aware of until less than an hour prior. This, of course, caused further speculation as to the stability of Yellowstone, which is currently set to return to conclude its fifth season sometime this summer.

How do you feel about the situation? Should Kevin Costner see Yellowstone through to the end without new stipulations? Give us your take in the comments section below.