How ‘Yellowstone’ Addressed Kevin Costner’s Exit in Season Premiere

Yellowstone is back — sans Kevin Costner. The Oscar winner broke fans’ heart when he revealed he wouldn’t be returning amid reported creative differences between him and the show’s creator, Taylor Sheridan. The highly anticipated second half of the show’s fifth season opened Nov. 10 with Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) pulling up to the governor’s mansion to a chaotic scene of emergency responders. Fans quickly learn that her beloved father, John Dutton (Costner), lay dead inside, before he was to face an impeachment tribunal set up by his son Jamie (Wes Bentley), the Montana attorney general. 

Fans don’t see John Dutton’s face, but his body is frail and turning colors, as the wall in the bathroom is painted with blood from a single gunshot to the head. Jamie confirms it was a murder set up to appear as a suicide. So, the family patriarch was killed off the show.  

Despite his exit from the show, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Sheridan spoke on whether his feelings about Costner have changed. “My opinion of Kevin as an actor hasn’t altered,” Sheridan said. “His creation of John Dutton is symbolic and powerful … and I’ve never had an issue with Kevin that he and I couldn’t work out on the phone. But once lawyers get involved, then people don’t get to talk to each other and start saying things that aren’t true and attempt to shift blame based on how the press or public seem to be reacting. He took a lot of this on the chin and I don’t know that anyone deserves it.”

Costner has also expressed interest in returning, though in what capacity is not known. Since his exit, he’s stated publicly that he and Sheridan have spoken. Before Season 5 production, it was reported that Costner held things up, causing a delay.