SPOILERS: This article will contain spoilers for the newest episodes of Yellowstone, particularly the fate of Kevin Costner’s John Dutton.
With the release of the second half of season five of Yellowstone, fans finally learned what became of John Dutton following the seemingly endless disputes between portrayer Kevin Costner and the suits. Even if you haven’t had a chance to see the premiere episode, it seems like everybody now knows. But one who hasn’t exactly learned — not firsthand, anyway — was Costner himself. As he revealed on The Michael Smerconish Program (via Deadline), “I didn’t see it. I heard it’s a suicide, so that doesn’t make me want to rush to go see it.”
Kevin Costner went on to elaborate as to what went down behind the scenes of Yellowstone and why he was ultimately written out. “I didn’t really have to leave anything behind. There were the gaps that were there. There was contractual things that would allow for both things to be done, but because both things were contractual, you had to make room for the other thing. There was room, but it was difficult for them to keep their schedule. It seemed to be, it was just too difficult for them to do it. There was the time there, what happened, you can deal with it. But no one, I didn’t leave. I didn’t quit the show. Okay? I had made a contract to do all three. There was a contract in place to do all three. And within about an eight-month period, two more different kind of contracts were being negotiated. Not at my request, but at their request to try to do things.” Costner said that once things went too far, he knew he had to ride off into the sunset.
At a certain point – and much longer than learning about the fate of John Dutton – Kevin Costner said he would return to Yellowstone if the circumstances worked out. With Dutton being killed off, it’s a guarantee now that this won’t happen. On the bright side, it did let him explore the western genre in a more epic form, further developing his Horizon saga.
How do you feel about the way John Dutton was killed off on Yellowstone? Was it a cheap end for Costner’s character or did it work?