Kevin Costner’s untimely departure from Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone came as a shock to many viewers. While it seems unlikely that he will ever return given the tension between him and the director, fans have devised a plan on how the studio can justify his absence.
With the series moving forward to the second part of Season 5, it’s hard to imagine that John Dutton won’t be there anymore. As the Dutton patriarch and owner of Yellowstone Ranch, he plays a vital part in the show.
Kevin Costner Reveals Why He Left Yellowstone
In a report from Deadline, actor Kevin Costner was offered $24 million to appear in Seasons 5, 6, and 7 of Yellowstone. It was found that the root cause of the issue stems from scheduling conflicts.
“We did negotiate. There were issues about creative. I tried to break the logjam. They walked away.”
Costner reportedly wanted to shoot 50 days for the first part of Season 5. He also complained about the choice to split the season which would require two separate periods of production. This would take his time away from his own project, Horizon, that he is writing, directing, and starring in.
“Somewhere along the line, they wanted to change things. They wanted to do 5A and 5B; [it] 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.”
Apart from the schedule, creative direction over his John Dutton character also put a strain on his relationship with director Taylor Sheridan. Still, the filmmaker claimed that he had no problem with the actor that they could not resolve through proper discussion.
As it seems final that Costner is never coming back to Yellowstone, fans have suggested a theory that might make his exit look as seamless as possible. With the help of an important detail from Season 1, the studio could cover for the actor’s sudden departure from the series.
Here’s How Yellowstone Can Solve Kevin Costner’s Absence From The Show
Fans were introduced to Kevin Costner’s John Dutton in the first season as someone who battles colon cancer. While this is a given fact, he hides it from his children as the ongoing rivalry unfolds among the family.
The character’s illness was an added plot to make the ranch’s successor’s story more compelling. When Dutton collapsed in front of everyone and started coughing up blood, the doctor immediately diagnosed that he was suffering from an ulcer. After he was treated, and the illness seemingly gone, they moved on and discarded that storyline.
With Costner’s exit, they could conveniently rehash that sickness plot to deal with his absence once and for all. It is not the best excuse, and fans are definitely devastated that the character would just vanish like that, but it is the most plausible way out. Besides, it was already part of the beginning story; it just suitably fit into the current situation of the franchise.
Ending Yellowstone’s Season 5 without Costner is not the way fans envisioned the series would be though it does not seem like there’s any other choice but to make do with what’s at hand.