Kevin Costner reveals Yellowstone future as show films final episodes of season five: Part one

Kevin Costner as John Dutton in Yellowstone. Photo / Paramount

Kevin Costner starred as John Dutton in the hit series Yellowstone for five seasons until his departure in 2023. Now, as the show starts production on its final instalment, he reveals what the chances are of reprising his much-loved role.

Kevin Costner has made a candid confession about Yellowstone, once again admitting he would love to reprise his role of John Dutton for the second half of the series’ fifth season.

Production has kicked off in Montana for the final instalment of the much-loved series, with Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios still expecting the drama to return to screens in November, and while the 69-year-old has openly said he will not feature, he has not shut down the possibility of returning later down the track.

“I’ve supported that thing and I’ve loved it,” the Oscar winner told Today reporter Savannah Guthrie. “It’s been really important to me. I would love to go back under the right circumstances. I think that all of us want that. For me, it really needs to be the right circumstances.”

Kevin Costner speaks to @SavannahGuthrie about the process of making his film “Horizon,” receiving a standing ovation at Cannes, working with his son and shares he would be open to return to “Yellowstone” under the “right circumstances.” pic.twitter.com/xiJwzhND8p

— TODAY (@TODAYshow) June 17, 2024

The actor also addressed the reason he left the show in 2023, stating that while he appeared as Dutton for five years, it was limiting in how often he could film and said he wants to work “more than once a year”.

He stated that following Covid when the show was out of production for over a year, he needed to be in the position to do “both of the things” – referring to his self-funded project, Horizon.

He said: “There’s a chance to do both of them, but people, material, has to be ready at certain times, but we weren’t able to do that, and after five years, I thought, I’m not going to do this.”

Kevin Costner as John Dutton in Yellowstone. Photo / Paramount

Costner said he does love the show though, just as much as creator Taylor Sheridan and said “I’ve supported that thing and I’ve loved it.”

Guthrie grinned as she said to the star, “so you’re saying there’s a chance?” To which he confirmed, “There’s always a chance.”

The confession is not exactly a new one as the star spoke to GQ earlier this year where he said “Well, Taylor [Sheridan] and I know what the conditions are for coming back, and I’ll just keep that between ourselves.”

Kevin Costner with Kelly Reilly in Yellowstone.

“And if we can’t get to it, it’s because at the end of the day, it’s unreasonable for them or something. I love that character. I love that world. I am a person that is very script-oriented. And if the scripts aren’t there now, I need to know what I am.

“I want to make sure that the character lines up with what’s important to me too. And that’s pretty simple. That’s just between, again, Taylor and myself. Can we ever get there? I don’t know.”

Paramount previously claimed a feud between Costner and show creator Taylor Sheridan over the actor’s lack of availability resulted in the controversial exit.

However, Costner claimed the real hold-up was that Sheridan had not written the script for the show in due time.

As well as his love for the show, it has been suggested that the star’s large salary could be the reason he is keeping the door open to a possible return.

Kevin Costner and Hayes Costner pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film Horizon: An American Saga at the 77th international film festival, Cannes. Photo / AP

Earning a hefty US$500,000 ($821,645) per episode in the first season of the show, the actor became the biggest name involved in the series and, by season five, had a jaw-dropping salary increase to US$1.3 million ($2.1m) per episode. Variety reported in September last year, that Costner received upwards of US$12m ($19.7m) for the fifth season.

It comes amid reports he would receive an increase of US$1.6m ($2.6m) per episode if he continued into season six.

The American TV series, set in 1872, has gained a large following since its first episode in 2018, with Variety reporting an average audience of 5.49 million per episode.