\n<\/p>\n
It\u2019s official: Kevin Costner will not be returning to television\u2019s hit neo-western \u201cYellowstone\u201d for its final episodes or for any future \u201cYellowstone\u201d offshoot, ending speculation about his involvement with one of TV\u2019s biggest hits in recent years.<\/p>\n
In a video posted to social media<\/a> on Thursday evening, Costner said that after a year-and-a-half working on his upcoming multi-film epic \u201cHorizon\u201d and thinking about \u201cYellowstone,\u201d which he called a \u201cbeloved series that I love that I know you love,\u201d he realized that he would not be able to continue. The second half of Season 5, the show\u2019s last, is set to debut on Nov. 10.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was something that really changed me,\u201d Costner said about \u201cYellowstone,\u201d which premiered on Paramount Network in 2018 and became an instant and durable standout. It was TV\u2019s highest-rated<\/a> drama of the 2021-2022 TV season, and its Season 4 finale was the most-watched scripted prime-time telecast in 2022, Variety reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI just wanted to let you know that I won\u2019t be returning,\u201d Costner, 69, continued, telling fans that he has loved the relationship they have been able to develop. \u201cI\u2019ll see you at the movies,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n A representative for Costner did not immediately reply to a request for further comment on Friday.<\/p>\n The announcement comes after will-he-or-won\u2019t-he<\/a> rumors about whether Costner would continue in the role of the ruthless Montana rancher John Dutton, which earned Costner a Golden Globe for acting in 2023. Tensions between Costner and the show\u2019s creative team had been reported for more than a year \u2014 to the point that it was largely expected that Costner would not be involved in the conclusion of \u201cYellowstone.\u201d<\/p>\n Last year, Taylor Sheridan<\/a>, who created \u201cYellowstone\u201d along with John Linson, essentially confirmed<\/a> that Costner would soon be departing the show, telling The Hollywood Reporter that he was \u201cdisappointed\u201d<\/a> by Costner\u2019s decision. \u201cIt truncates the closure of his character,\u201d he said. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t alter it, but it truncates it.\u201d<\/p>\n Before \u201cYellowstone,\u201d Costner was primarily a movie star and had only dabbled in television. In 1991, he won two Oscars for the sweeping western \u201cDances With Wolves,\u201d which he directed, co-produced and starred in.<\/p>\n \u201cHorizon,\u201d which he stars in and is directing, producing and co-writing, explores the settling of the West post-Civil War. After \u201cHorizon: An American Saga \u2014 Chapter 1<\/a>\u201d comes to theaters on June 28, the second chapter is expected to arrive in quick succession, on Aug. 16. The third movie is being filmed in Utah. Costner confirmed that he has already paid $38 million of his own money<\/a> to finance the project.<\/p>\n A sequel<\/a> for \u201cYellowstone,\u201d also created by Sheridan, is in the works and is expected to premiere on Paramount Network in December. The show already has two prequels: \u201c1923,\u201d<\/a> which stars Helen Mirren and Harrison Ford, premiered in December 2022 (it was renewed<\/a> for a second season); and \u201c1883,\u201d<\/a> a 10-episode mini-series, ended in February 2022.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n