Everything Kevin Costner Has Said About His Yellowstone Death

Kevin Costner not on Yellowstone anymore, but he he still has some thoughts about the direction the show took his character, John Dutton, following his departure.

The Oscar winner confirmed his departure of the Paramount Network drama in June 2024 following months of speculation that he would appear in the final episodes of season 5.

“After this long year and a half of working on Horizon and do all the things that are required, and think about Yellowstonethat beloved series that I love and I know you love,” Costner began in a video shared via social media at the time. “I realized that I’m not going to be able to continue with season 5B or into the future. It was something that changed me a lot. I was delighted. And I know you love it. I just wanted to let you know that I will not be returning. I love the relationship we’ve been able to develop, and I’ll see you in the movies.”

Rumors of Costner’s departure began in early 2023 after the end of the 5A season. Reports were circulated that Costner contradicted Yellowstone cocreator Taylor Sheridan over the timing of the production, which overlapped with filming on Costner’s four parts Horizon a movie saga. The duo denied any bad blood, but Sheridan later said he was “disappointed” that Costner was not interested in continuing the show.

Although Sheridan said in June 2023 that he doesn’t do “f – car crashes” in his writing, he still kills John Dutton in the season 5B premiere, albeit not in a car crash. In the November 10, 2024 episode, fans immediately learned that John was murdered by a hit man hired by Sarah Atwood (Dawn Olivieri). The hit man staged the scene to look like a suicide, but Beth (Kelly Reilly) and Kayce (Luke Grimes) was immediately suspicious that all was not as it seemed.

Meanwhile, Costner claims he hasn’t seen the episode, but has been sharing his thoughts on it since it aired. Keep scrolling for everything he has said about John’s death:

Not Interested

The day after the season 5B premiere aired, Costner said he was unaware that the first episode without him had finally premiered. “I’m going to be perfectly honest. I didn’t know it was actually airing last night,” he said during a November 11, 2024 interview on SiriusXM’s Michael Smerconish programme. “That was a moment of swearing to God. I’ve been seeing ads with my face all over the place and I’m thinking, ‘Gee, I’m not in that one.’ But I didn’t realize it was yesterday.”

He noted that he hadn’t seen the episode but had heard what happened, saying, “I heard it was a suicide, so that doesn’t make me want to rush to go see it.”

Kudos to the Writers

In the same interview, Costner praised the Yellowstone for always cooking up good stories — and he said he knew that John’s “suicide” might not have been what it seems. “They’re pretty smart people,” he said. “Maybe it’s a red herring. Who knows? They are very good. And they will find out. “

Congratulations to the Supporters

As the second episode of season 5B aired, Costner shared his thoughts on the fan backlash to John’s fate. “Fans have a say in things, and they choose to follow things,” he said A! News on November 17, 2024.

The actor went on to say that he had brought up John’s death to Sheridan “a while ago” but had no part in what is happening now. “They do what they want to do,” he said. “That’s fine with me.”

No Ideas

During an interview on November 17, 2024, with Entertainment TonightCostner confirmed that he still hadn’t seen the episode where John died. “I didn’t watch it, so I don’t really have any thoughts on it,” he said.

Let It Go

Costner doubled down on his lack of feelings towards Yellowstone comes to an end

“I don’t think about (the end of Yellowstone), I don’t think I’ve given it any thoughts,” he said in a video obtained by the Daily Mail on December 18. “We’ll let it go.”