Kevin Costner Reacts To John Dutton's Yellowstone Fate

This post contains spoilers for the "Yellowstone" season 5 part 2 premiere.

It finally happened. Nearly two years after "Yellowstone" season 5 initially premiered, the hit series has returned to Paramount Network to kick off its (supposedly) final run of episodes. The second half of the show's fifth season has had to contend with the loss of its main star, Kevin Costner, who had led the way as John Dutton since the beginning. No longer, though; as viewers are surely aware, the latest episode of "Yellowstone" killed off Costner's character pretty definitively. So, what does Costner think about that, exactly?

In a bit of serendipitous timing, Costner had an interview scheduled with SiriusXM's "The Michael Smerconish Program" the morning after the "Yellowstone" season 5 part 2 premiere. First and foremost, the legendary actor and director made it clear that he wasn't even aware the show had returned, since he wasn't involved in the latest batch of episodes:

"I'm going to be perfectly honest. I didn't know it was actually airing last night. That's a swear to God moment. I swear to God. I mean, I've been seeing ads with my face all over the place and I'm thinking, 'Gee, I'm not in that one.' I'm not in this season."

Costner then addressed the death of John Dutton more directly saying, "I didn't see it. I heard it's a suicide, so that doesn't make me want to rush to go see it." Indeed, Dutton is dead and "Yellowstone" fans largely seem none too pleased with how this all went down. Speaking a bit further, Costner was complimentary to creator Taylor Sheridan and the writing staff, suggesting there may be more to it as the season unfolds:

"Well, they're pretty smart people. Maybe it's a red herring. Who knows? They're very good. And they'll figure that out."

The actor's exit from the wildly popular Western series was very public and very messy. There was a lot of back and forth between Sheridan, Paramount, and Costner. As for what really happened? It's still largely a game of he said, she said, but Costner wants to make one thing very clear: he didn't quit. He had a movie to go make in the form of "Horizon: An American Saga." Speaking further in the interview, he explained:

"There was contractual things that would allow for both things to be done, but because both things were contractual, you had to make room for the other thing. There was room, but it was difficult for them to keep their schedule. It seemed to be, it was just too difficult for them to do it. I didn't leave. I didn't quit. I had 300 people waiting for me, I couldn't help them anymore. I just simply couldn't help them. But I didn't quit the show [...] everybody has to live up to what they say they're going to do. And it doesn't matter what business you're in."

For what it's worth, Costner had long planned to make "Horizon," a four-part Western epic that he largely self-financed. He couldn't leave that hanging to accommodate the "Yellowstone" production schedule. "An American Saga — Chapter 1" flopped in theaters earlier this year, although it did well on VOD. (The film is also available on Blu-ray/DVD via Amazon.) Whether or not those sales can help make up the difference or benefit "Chapter 2" when it arrives, that much remains to be seen.

Commercial woes aside, Costner had a movie to attend to. Paramount and Sheridan couldn't get their schedules to line up. That was that. That's at least how Costner tells it, anyway. As for the future, "Yellowstone" will continue in some way, shape, or form. Sheridan has a new spin-off on the way called "The Madison," with a second season of "1923" in the works as well. Come what may, this universe will have to live on without John Dutton.

"Yellowstone" airs on Paramount Network and is also streaming on Peacock.