Yellowstone fans know that that show delivers action, drama, and great music in every episode. The first four and a half seasons have introduced the massive audience to acts like Zach Byran, Jackson Dean, Shane Smith & The Saints, and many more. Additionally, the show’s cast features some country star power. Singer/songwriter Ryan Bingham has been with the series since season one. More recently, Lainey Wilson joined the cast. The series also created a country star. Actor Luke Grimes decided to start a music career after being on the show.
With the second half of the final season of Yellowstone coming in November, fans are wondering who will return to the show. Rumors about cast members leaving, on-set setbacks, scheduling conflicts, and more have plagued the production of season five.
At this point, it appears that Wilson (Abby), Grimes (Kayce Dutton), and Bingham (Walker) will be back to finish their respective characters’ stories. After all, Walker and Kayce play major roles in the ongoing drama of the Dutton Ranch. At the same time, Abby is brand new to the ranch and still has plenty of plot to play out.
Most of the cast of Yellowstone seem ready to return to the Dutton Ranch when the time comes. However, reports indicate that one major player may not return to the show for its final episodes.
Fans may be disappointed to see that John Dutton isn’t on the ranch when the show comes back. However, they shouldn’t be shocked to find that Costner has exited the show he led for four and a half seasons.
People reports that Costner revealed his reasons for leaving Yellowstone during a hearing amid his divorce from Christine Baumgartner last September. It came down to scheduling conflicts and money.
Costner wants to focus on his four-part western movie series Horizon: An American Saga. He wrote the films and will direct and star in them. While on the stand, Costner testified that he had to change the shooting schedule of Horizon to work on the first half of Yellowstone season 5. “That’s a big deal in this world,” he said. Splitting the fifth season into two parts would make working on both projects even more difficult.
Costner also pointed out that the writers hadn’t finished the scripts for the second half of the season at that time.
He tried to negotiate a fee to make staying on the series worth his while. He told his reps to “have them pay me whatever number, we came up with a number, and [Yellowstone] walked away,” he said. Costner testified that he believed the number to be $12 million.
“I couldn’t help them anymore. We tried to negotiate. They offered me less money than previous seasons,” he said under oath. He said there were “issues” with the creative team as well but didn’t elaborate.