Yellowstone’s Kevin Costner Drama Needs To End, Whether He Returns Or Not

The behind-the-scenes drama that surrounded Kevin Costner’s auspicious exit from Yellowstone was a black mark on an otherwise highly successful show, and reports of his desire to return for the conclusion of season 5 are making matters worse. While there has been no confirmation that Costner will have any involvement in the show’s final half-season or the series finale, there has been speculation that Costner’s John Dutton could make his Yellowstone return with a cameo, perhaps to shoot his death scene. Series creator Taylor Sheridan reportedly finished writing the show without Costner’s involvement, but his potential return makes everything uncertain.

The Academy Award-winning actor was a driving force behind Yellowstone‘s initial popularity, but in the years since the show debuted audiences and critics alike have embraced the ensemble cast. Some of the show’s best story lines revolve around the Dutton children or the ranch hands, and while John Dutton is tangentially related to almost everything, he is no longer the primary attraction for the audience. As if being forced to quickly finish Yellowstone well short of Kevin Costner’s initial 7-season plan wasn’t bad enough, Taylor Sheridan will now need to negotiate the drama around Costner’s exit and return.

Kevin Costner’s Yellowstone Season 5 Exit & Return Overshadows The Show

Simply put, Costner’s behind-the-scenes drama has been a massive detriment to the success of Yellowstone. His abrupt exit, which was at least partially due to a clash with series creator Taylor Sheridan, pivoted the overall focus from the show’s quality characters, sharp writing, and modern Western action to the bevy of rumors that surrounded Costner’s departure. The celebrated actor was largely responsible for the show’s initial rise, but he is equally responsible for its premature conclusion.

Now that Costner is discussing a return for the final episodes of the show, he’s overshadowing the show once again. Taylor Sheridan reportedly was content with the way the show wrapped up without John Dutton’s on-screen involvement, and it’s entirely possible that, given how far the ensemble cast has come, the end of season 5 might have been better without John Dutton. However, it will be difficult for Taylor Sheridan to convince network executives and many fans of that, especially if Costner is willing to conclude the show properly. Costner is poised to overshadow the show’s conclusion no matter what.

Yellowstone Can’t Have An Ending When Kevin Costner’s Future Is Uncertain

Because John Dutton is intertwined into almost every ongoing story line (some more prominently than others), it will be impossible to end the show without a definitive resolution about Kevin Costner’s involvement. The season 5 midseason finale saw half the main cast heading for Texas, and John Dutton facing impeachment as governor directly at the hands of his son Jamie. Barring some sort of extremely disappointing time jump, there is no way to cleanly end the show without directly addressing what happened to John Dutton.

Given the nature of Yellowstone‘s explosive drama, it makes sense to have John Dutton meet a violent end if Costner is not going to be involved in the full set of episodes to close out the show. That could happen off-screen, as many have speculated, with the resurgence of John Dutton’s cancer or the murderous revenge of one of the many groups that John Dutton has offended (ex. the California biker gang he forced to dig their own graves). However, a decision about his return needs to be made one way or another for the proper scenes to be shot.

Kevin Costner Returning To Yellowstone Looks Very Difficult Now (Despite Him Wanting To)

Given all that has happened both behind the scenes and publicly, it would be difficult for Kevin Costner to make a justifiable return to the show. Without even getting into the issues between him and Sheridan, Costner returning this late in the game could be a major problem to the show’s narrative. The last few episodes might now need to shoehorn John Dutton back into plots that were originally written without his presence in mind, which could lead to some unsatisfying or rushed exposition/omissions from the script.

Perhaps more importantly, Kevin Costner’s return would create a much bigger cast problem in that he would be overshadowing the cast and characters that not only stuck around, but could have thrived in his absence. Yellowstone is well past needing John Dutton to be successful, as Beth Dutton, Rip Wheeler, Kayce Dutton, and even ranch hands like Ryan and Teeter are just as beloved as Costner’s patriarch ever was. While the back half of season 5 could have been used to set up spinoffs or satisfyingly conclude character arcs, that valuable screen time will now need to address Costner.