Kevin Costner won’t be returning to ‘Yellowstone’

It’s official: Kevin Costner will not be returning to the hit TV show “Yellowstone” for its final episodes or any future “Yellowstone” spinoff, putting an end to speculation about his involvement in one of the biggest hit TV series of recent years.

in Video posted on social media On Thursday evening, Costner said that after a year and a half of working on his multi-film epic “Horizon” and thinking about “Yellowstone,” which he described as a “beloved series that I love and I know you love,” he “realized he wasn’t going to be able to continue. He’s scheduled to start the half The second season of the fifth season, the final half of the series, will be released on November 10.

“It was something that really changed me,” Costner said of “Yellowstone,” which premiered on Paramount Network in 2018 and became an instant and enduring cult film. It was the highest-rated TV drama of the 2021-22 TV season, and the season 4 finale was the most-watched prime-time TV drama of 2022, Variety mentioned.

“I just wanted to let you know that I’m not coming back,” Costner, 69, continued, telling fans that he loved the relationship they were able to develop. He added: “I will see you at the cinema.”

A representative for Costner did not immediately respond to a request for further comment on Friday.

This announcement comes after Is he or isn’t he? Rumors about whether Costner would continue in the role of John Dutton, the ruthless Montana rancher, earned Costner a Golden Globe for acting in 2023. Tensions between Costner and the show’s creative team have been reported for over a year — so much so that he and It is widely expected that Costner will not be involved in the conclusion of “Yellowstone.”

In an emailed statement on Friday, a representative for Paramount Network said those at the network wished him well on the film series and that they hoped to continue working with him. “Unfortunately, we were unable to find a suitable window for him, all of our other talent and production needs to move forward together,” the statement read.

Last year, Taylor Sheridan, who created “Yellowstone” with John Linson, Basically confirmed Costner will be leaving the show soon, telling The Hollywood Reporter was “frustrated” By Costner’s decision. “It carves out closure to his character,” he said. “He doesn’t change it, he cuts it.”

Before Yellowstone, Costner was primarily a movie star and only worked in television. In 1991, he won two Oscars for the sweeping Western “Dances With Wolves,” which he directed, co-produced and starred in.

“Horizon,” which he stars in, directs, produces and co-writes, explores the settling of the West after the Civil War. after “Horizon: An American Epic – Chapter One“comes to theaters on June 28, and the second act is expected to arrive in quick succession, on August 16. The third film is being shot in Utah. Costner confirmed that he has already made the payment $38 million of his own money To finance the project.

A sequel to “Yellowstone,” also created by Sheridan, is currently in the works and is expected to premiere on Paramount Network in December. The series already has two prequels: “1923,” starring Helen Mirren and Harrison Ford, which premiered in December 2022 (It has been refurbished for the second season); “1883,” a 10-episode miniseries, ended its run in February 2022.