Yellowstone premiered in 2018 with Kevin Costner as the lead, but the final season went on without the actor. Costner’s presence was felt throughout the final season, although he didn’t star in it, and one of his co-stars, Luke Gimes, addressed how it felt to go on without the actor.
Kevin Costner’s John Dutton’s fate was unveiled in Episode 9, where it revealed how his character died. The actor’s commitments to the show ended up overlapping with his two-part western film, Horizon: An American Saga, and Costner was unable to return for the final season. In an interview with Esquire to address the series finale, Luke Grimes, who played the cowboy Kayce Dutton, opened up about the series and further described what Costner’s absence meant for the cast.
The alleged feud between Costner and the series creator Taylor Sheridan further derailed filming for Season 5, which Costner claimed “kept moving their gaps.” At the same time, Grimes called the final season “the easiest season we’ve filmed.”
Kevin being gone meant some of the conflict was gone.
“Hopefully everyone can see that it was time,” Grimes explained. “To be really honest, there was a part of Kevin being gone that meant some of the conflict was gone. Obviously, it didn’t make it super fun to be around. Not pointing any fingers, but it was actually the easiest season we’ve filmed.“
Grimes continued that Costner’s absence allowed his character, Kayce, to thrive. “It was a running joke on set that the dumb cowboy figured it out.” He continued, “Kayce’s kind of the silent killer, and it’s great whenever he gets to use that energy for something good. He’s a character who is under his father’s thumb — just sinking into the background because he would rather be not noticed than have to do the shit his dad wanted him to do. Now he gets to step up and figure everything out. So it was a nice payoff for me.”
The Yellowstone Universe Will Continue
Although the original series is set to end with Season 5, Yellowstone will continue to expand. The Paramount+ series has already premiered two spinoffs, the limited series 1883, and 1923, and the latter will return with Season 2 on Feb. 23.
Kelly Reilly’s Beth Dutton and Cole Hauser’s Rip Wheeler will also return in an upcoming spinoff series that will continue the present-day series, with many characters expected to return.
The Yellowstone series finale airs on Paramount Network on Dec. 15.
