Yellowstone fans will be surprised and devastated by Kevin Costner’s recent court papers pertaining to his messy divorce. What do the papers reveal about his status as John Dutton in the Taylor Sheridan-created series?
Here is the shocking news.
Kevin Costner’s Divorce Papers Share Shocking Yellowstone Revelation
Yellowstone star Kevin Costner’s name and face have recently been plastered on headlines due to his shocking divorce, and his status on the Paramount series. According to Insider, the June 30, 2023 court papers for his divorce from Christine Baumgartner shows he is “no longer under contract” with Paramount for the Taylor Sheridan-created series.
I will earn substantially less in 2023 than I did in 2022. This is because I am no longer under contract for Yellowstone, the principal source of my income last year.
In his ex-wife’s court papers, they reported he earned $1.3 million per episode of the series. Costner’s papers revealed that “So far in 2023 I have yet to receive any participation compensation from Yellowstone.”
Firstly, he is not under a “pay-or-play” contract. This means that Costner is not guaranteed payment whether he is acting in the Paramount series or not. Also, he revealed that there is one way he will get paid. “Now, any compensation I earn from Yellowstone will derive from my back-end contractual participation rights, which amounts are not fixed.”
Moreover, Kevin indicated that he disputed losing out on the pay-or-play, he revealed he is “Not now owned any participation money.”
Does This Mean John Dutton Will Not Appear In Final Yellowstone Episodes?
Essentially, in this divorce contract, Kevin Costner reveals that he is no longer under contract with Paramount to portray John Dutton in Yellowstone. The award-winning actor is not going to be back for the remainder of Season 5.
Earlier in the year, Costner was in the news for having very limited availability to finish filming Season 5 because he is working on his passion product Horizon. Horizon is his epic four-movie project that takes place pre and post Civil War to the Western Expansion.
Costner has given up almost everything to make this 30+ year dream project happen. It appears his marriage and his job have been the casualties along the way.
Taylor Sheridan Thinks Kevin Costner Is Returning As John Dutton
Unfortunately, there is more collateral damage. Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan has plans for the ending of his series. Moreover, he wants to give John Dutton a suitable ending. In late June, he spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about the end and his lead, “Robert Redford-like” leading man.
In the interview, it appeared that they were in discussion with Kevin Costner about his availability for the final episodes. Now, it sounds like Costner is never coming back. This could certainly give this prolific showrunner a challenge to make a satisfactory ending to the most popular series on cable.
Could things change? Yellowstone fans have to hope so. But, as it stands now, Kevin Costner is out as John Dutton.