Kevin Costner as John Dutton – Officially Exiting
Kevin announced his exit in an Instagram video in June 2024 while promoting the release of his movie Horizon: An American Saga, which hit theaters last month.
“Hi everyone. I just want to reach out and let you know that after this long year and a half of working on Horizon and doing all the things that’s required, and thinking about Yellowstone — that beloved series that I love — that I know you love. I just realized that I’m not going to be able to continue Season 5b or into the future,” Kevin said.
He continued, “It was something that really changed me. I loved it, and I know you loved it. I just wanted to let you know that I won’t be returning,” he reiterated before concluding, “I love the relationship we’ve been able to develop, and I’ll see you at the movies.”
During his 2023 divorce trial from ex Christine Baumgartner, Kevin was asked about his potential exit on the stands.
While testifying, Kevin revealed what led him to exit the Paramount Network series, explaining that a “long, hard-fought negotiation” about splitting the fifth season into two parts was a major factor in his departure.
Kevin explained that he needed to focus on his own Western, Horizon: An American Saga, and had already changed his schedule to accommodate shooting for the first part of Yellowstone season 5. “That’s a big deal in this world,” he noted.
He added that there were “no scripts written” for the second part of season 5 and they “still hadn’t finished” the first half of the season at the time. They opted to do a “pay or play” which didn’t work and he was expected to be paid $12 million for each part of season 5.
While he wanted to come back for the sixth season, Kevin felt he “couldn’t help them any more. We tried to negotiate, they offered me less money than previous seasons, there were issues with the creative…”
He shared that before walking away from the show, he asked his reps to “have them pay me whatever number, we came up with a number, and they [Yellowstone] walked away.” He added that he believes that number was $12 million.
“I’ve been told it’s a little disappointing that [it’s] the #1 show on TV, I’m not participating,” he said.
Kevin was then asked if he was set to receive a payout from the second part of Yellowstone season 5 and he replied, “I will probably go to court over it.”
Over the summer, Yellowstone‘s creator Taylor Sheridan shared his thoughts on Kevin‘s exit. Find out what he said here.
