‘Yellowstone’: John Dutton’s Death Being Plotted Amid Rumored Kevin Costner Exit

it’s unclear what the future holds for Yellowstone amid troubling news that kicked off February. Despite the mystery, all signs are pointing to star Kevin Costner departing from the series. According to Matthew Belloni’s Puck newsletter, the team behind Yellowstone has a tentative plan for Costner’s eventual exit in the works for a while now. The team has been crafting a contingency to cover all bases. This includes killing off his character, John Dutton, to make way for the actor’s exit. 

It was previously reported that Costner was the reason why Yellowstone would be coming to an end in its current form. He allegedly got into arguments with the production team over the shooting schedule. The actor allegedly limited himself to 65 days of shooting for the first half of Season 5 and later limited himself to only 50 days. For the latter half of Season 5, he reportedly only agreed to a week of filming. Costner reportedly will barely appear in the rest of Season 5 due to this alleged scheduling drama. As a result of the alleged strife between Costner and the production team, Yellowstone may continue on without John Dutton with a new Dutton-centric project starring Matthew McConaughey as a lead. However, there have been no further details about this project, including whether anyone from Yellowstone would appear on it. 

While this news was a shock to Yellowstone‘s fans, it’s apparently been in the works for quite some time. Belloni reported in his Puck newsletter that Paramount Media Networks president and C.E.O. Chris McCarthy, Yellowstone co-creator Taylor Sheridan, and lead producer David Glasser have been planning Costner’s exit from the series. The team has reportedly been mulling over the possibility of killing off John Dutton. Sheridan has reportedly considered killing off the character before, but considering all of the drama surrounding the show, it’s “personal” this time. 

Amid the reported behind-the-scenes chaos, Marty Singer, a lawyer for Costner, responded to the allegations. Singer issued a statement to Puck, which began, “The idea that Kevin was only willing to work one week on the second half of Season 5 of Yellowstone is an absolute lie.” The attorney continued, “It’s ridiculous-and anyone suggesting it shouldn’t be believed for one second. As everyone who knows anything about Kevin is well aware, he is incredibly passionate about the show and has always gone way above and beyond to ensure its success.”