A new rumor claims that Kevin Costner will not be returning to Yellowstone to complete the show’s fifth season.
“Yellowstone” premieres Wednesday, June 20 on Paramount Network. John Dutton (center – Kevin Costner), owner of the Dutton Ranch is surrounded by his ranch team (pictured l to r) Walker (Ryan Bingham), Lloyd (Forrie Smith), Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser), Jimmy (Jefferson White), Colby (Denim Richards) and Fred (Luke Peckinpah.
This latest rumor comes from Midnight’s Edge host Tom Connors Jr. on X. He wrote, “Costner is refusing to return to film for even one day of Yellowstone.
Costner is refusing to return to film for even one day of #Yellowstone… pic.twitter.com/NYXir8JVG7
— MEAD The 4K💿 Master (Tom Connors) (@ThomasConnorsJr) November 21, 2023
In a follow-up post he added, “Costner has declined to come back. They asked for 1 day of filming but he said no to travel, so they offered to use Volume AR technology and he has said no to that.”
“They might recreate some sets in Hollywood to film him but they’re literally weighing up options. Sheridan is not involved in filming his scenes. Costner isn’t coming back period.” he concluded.
Costner has declined to come back. They asked for 1 day of filming but he said no to travel, so they offered to use Volume AR technology and he has said no to that. They might recreate some sets in Hollywood to film him but they’re literally weighing up options. Sheridan is not…
— MEAD The 4K💿 Master (Tom Connors) (@ThomasConnorsJr) November 21, 2023
Speaking exclusively with That Park Place, Connors informed us that his source told him that Paramount has two options on the table to wrap up Yellowstone.
His source informed him, “They’ve written two versions of Season 5B: a longer version that is effectively a miniseries that wraps up most things, and then a shorter two-hour series finale version that wraps up the family drama but will go straight into the new 2024 show and things continue in that.”
As for their plans for Costner’s John Dutton character, Connors stated, “I think that’s what they are trying to figure out now. The plan though is to end Yellowstone then move the show to the spin-off with most [of] the main cast of Yellowstone and Matthew McConaughey and this will be able to be streamed on Paramount+ in the United States because it’s a ‘new series,’ but it will basically be season of Yellowstone.”
“Yellowstone” premieres Wednesday, June 20 on Paramount Network. Pictured (l to r): Kayce Dutton (Luke Grimes) and Monica Long (Kelsey Asbille).
Connors also elaborated on this rumor on an episode of Midnight’s Edge After Dark. He said, “This kind of works out for Paramount, in this respect, is that they don’t have to worry anymore about their show not being on Paramount+ because in the US — for those who don’t know, who live outside of the US, you may not be aware of this — but in the US Peacock owns the streaming rights to Yellowstone not Paramount+. ”
“And they end that show and they can start a new on Paramount+ like they have all the other spin-offs, okay. And that’s what I’ve been hearing is that this new spin-off show will have pretty much the entire same cast pick up the storyline and everything from Yellowstone. It just won’t have Kevin Costner and it’ll have Matthew McConaughey added to the mix,” he asserted.
It was believed Costner would finish out the show’s fifth season, but based on this rumor it appears that will not be the case. Costner indicated there would be drama over his exit during a custody hearing amid divorce proceedings with his wife Christine Baumgartner.
Fox News reported that Costner told the court he was offered $24 million to do Seasons 5, 6 and 7, “We did negotiate. There were issues about creative. I tried to break the log jam. They walked away.”
He then noted much of the problems were due to scheduling as he was attempting to work on his multi-part western Horizon, “Somewhere along the line they wanted to change things.”
Costner explained, “They wanted to do 5A and 5B… affected ‘Horizon.’ I was going to do my movie ‘Horizon’ and leave that show, do my movie, then do B. A show I was only doing once a year I was now doing twice.”
Deadline also reported that Costner testified that he would “probably go to court” over his exit from Yellowstone.
Kevin Costner as John Dutton in Yellowstone (2022), Paramount Network
Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan also indicated the issue with Costner was scheduling in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. Sheridan told the outlet, “My last conversation with Kevin was that he had this passion project he wanted to direct. He and the network were arguing about when he could be done with Yellowstone. I said, ‘We can certainly work a schedule toward [his preferred exit date],’ which we did.”
Sheridan went on to detail, “But once lawyers get involved, then people don’t get to talk to each other and start saying things that aren’t true and attempt to shift blame based on how the press or public seem to be reacting.”
He continued, “[Costner] took a lot of this on the chin and I don’t know that anyone deserves it. His movie seems to be a great priority to him and he wants to shift focus. I sure hope [the movie is] worth it — and that it’s a good one.”
“I’m disappointed. It truncates the closure of his character. It doesn’t alter it, but it truncates it,” he said.
Taylor Sheridan via CBS Sunday Morning YouTube
As for what his plans are for Costner’s Dutton, Sheridan detailed, “I don’t do f**k-you car crashes. Whether [Dutton’s fate] inflates [Costner’s] ego or insults is collateral damage that I don’t factor in with regard to storytelling.”
He also addressed rumors of the Matthew McConaughey spin-off series, “He seems like a natural fit. We had a few conversations over the years, and spitballed a few ideas. Then he started watching Yellowstone and responded to it. He was like, ‘I want to do that.’ And by ‘that’ he meant diving into a raw world clashing up against the modern world. And then I said, ‘Buddy, that we can do.’”
However, Sheridan indicated that the spin-off series would not feature the cast from Yellowstone, “My idea of a spinoff is the same as my idea of a prequel — read into that what you will.”
He added, “There are lots of places where a way of life that existed for 150 years is slamming against a new way of life, but the challenges are completely different. There are a lot of places you can tell this story.”
Taylor Sheridan via Lippert YouTube
What do you make of this latest rumor about Costner not returning to wrap up Yellowstone Season 5?
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