Kevin Costner’s fate on Yellowstone has been up in the air for months following reports that he would not return to film the second half of the show’s fifth season.
Despite a failure to agree on terms to return, Costner — who plays the patriarch John Dutton III — reportedly had a disastrous call with series creator and showrunner Taylor Sheridan to get himself back in front of the cameras for season 5B.
With those efforts scuttled, the series is now heading toward an ending with the back half of season five, before reportedly continuing on in some form with a sequel series could potentially star Matthew McConaughey in a lead role, though he hasn’t closed on a deal yet.
But now that Costner’s time with Yellowstone is over, fans have been picking their brains to figure out how Sheridan — who has written or co-written the vast majority of the series — will write the acting legend off the show.
Among fans, one theory with roots going all the way back to season one has recently taken hold that could elegantly end Costner’s popular stint on Yellowstone, while also not violating a clause in his contract that stipulates how he can be killed off.
The show’s most devoted viewers have lately theorized that the colon cancer that John Dutton was afflicted with in season one could be used to explain his potential death in the second half of season five.
As summarized by Screen Rant, fans think the illness’ return might be an effective way to send off Costner, since it wouldn’t be a wholly new device to wrap up the beloved character’s arc.
Many Yellowstone viewers likely forgot about the cancer scare, as it was primarily conf ined to the first season.
Early in the series, John was revealed to be battling the disease, but he kept his physical symptoms to himself as much as possible and kept his children.
The illness particularly complicated matters for Dutton, as he lost his intended heir to lead the Yellowstone ranch when his eldest son Lee was killed in the show’s first episode.
Although he had three other children, none were obvious choices to take over the massive property in his absence.
John’s colon cancer was resolved later in season one after he had a seemingly successful operation to remove the mass, though his children Beth (Kelly Reilly) and Jamie (Wes Bentley) eventually learned of the illness.
But the series wasn’t done with the issue and hinted that the cancer had returned early in the second season when a follow-up scan showed a mass that may have been a returning tumor.
Dutton’s surgery seemed to have been futile after he began suffering physical symptoms again, but they were later revealed to be the result of an ulcer that had developed.
In the second season premiere, Costner’s character begins coughing up blood and alerts those around him that he has colon cancer, but the ranch’s veterinarian is on hand and recognizes that he’s suffering from a ruptured ulcer.
Without access to appropriate medical facilities — or even anesthesia — the vet performs squirm-inducing emergency surgery on Dutton in the field, and the incision wound has to be cauterized on the spot.
Dutton survived the terrifying ordeal, but a recurrence of the disease wouldn’t be out of place in the real world.
It would also potentially set Costner’s character up for a natural and not uncommon death, which would seemingly not violate the ‘moral death’ clause in his contract.
The provision states that his character cannot be killed off in any way that brings shame to Dutton’s family, which would presumably also embarrass the JFK star.
Costner’s team reportedly feared that some of Sheridan’s more violent options for killing off Dutton may have violated Costner’s contract, but a terminal cancer recurrence would presumably be allowed.
Season 5B of Yellowstone is expected to begin shooting early this year, and fans will likely find out if their guesses were correct by late 2024.