Kevin Costner Says He Won't Be Returning to Yellowstone in New Video: 'I Loved It'

Kevin Costner has confirmed that he will not reprise his role as John Dutton in the final episodes Yellowstone.

In a new Instagram post, the Oscar winner told fans that he won’t be returning to the hit series for the second half of Season 5.

Costner’s announcement follows news on June 20 that the highly anticipated second half of the season will debut on November 10 on the Paramount Network.

“Greetings to all. I just wanted to let you know after this long year and a half of work Horizon and do all the things that are necessary and think about it Yellowstone — that beloved series that I love — that I know you love. I just realized that I won’t be able to continue season 5b or in the future,” he shared.

“It was something that really changed me. I loved it and I know you did too,” he continued. “Just wanted to let you know I’m not coming back,” he repeated before concluding, “I like the relationship we’ve been able to develop and see you at the movies.”

Kevin Costner in Yellowstone.

Paramount Network

Costner played patriarch John Dutton III for four and a half seasons, from 2018 to 2022. He starred alongside Luke Grimes, Kelly Reilly, Wes Bentley, Cole Hauser, Kelsey Asbilla, Ryan Bingham, Hassie Harrison and series co-creator Taylor Sheridan.

The first half of season 5 of the hit western series aired from November 2022 to January 2023, and was originally scheduled to end with a premiere in November 2023. However, due to a writers’ strike, production was delayed. In November 2023, the network announced that it would be another year before the Dutton family returned to screens.

Kevin Costner on Instagram Jun 20, 2024

kevin costner/instagram

Additionally, Coster exclusively shared with PEOPLE in this week’s cover story, “I loved the people on the show. I loved what it was about. I love that world.”

Costner, who is No. 1 on PEOPLE’s annual 100 Reasons to Love America list, shared with us how much he “loves the show.”

The legendary actor explained that he kept the show a priority for more than a year waiting for the scripts and schedule for the next season, but “the scripts weren’t there.”

“When Taylor first gave it to me [Sheridan] it was one season and [like] long film, which [is] speaking my language … but in the end, I think what happened was the studio didn’t want it,” he shared with PEOPLE. “And because he’s such a prolific writer, he said, ‘I can do it. I can make a series that goes further.’ ”

Costner was happy to “step up” and, “I said, ‘I’m going to do it for three seasons,'” he explained, “and I ended up doing it for five.”

The actor was willing to continue with the series, but explained that there is no timeline or new material. “There was a moment when that show stopped for 14 months for me… That’s a fact. I could have done a lot at that time, but I wasn’t aware that it [hold-up] should have happened.”

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Yellowstone returns Sunday, November 10 at 8:00 PM ET/PT on the Paramount Network. All five seasons air on Peacock and Paramount+.

Find out more about Kevin Costner’s exclusive interview in this week’s PEOPLE magazine, on stands Friday.

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education