For years now, Sunday nights have been home for new Yellowstone episodes, but that era is over now, with the western drama having dropped its brutal series finale in mid-December. Despite the knowledge that more upcoming Yellowstone shows are already set in stone, from the Beth and Rip-centric spinoff to the seemingly unrelated follow-up The Madison, fans will still have plenty of Taylor Sheridan stories to pay attention to. Just maybe don’t count Kevin Costner among those fans.
Costner, of course, was the high-profile lead that helped turn Yellowstone from a cable oddity into the most-watched scripted project. But scheduling conflicts and behind-the-scenes disagreements between the Oscar winner and Sheridan led to his official exit, which held true despite attempts to get him back on the show. Unsurprisingly, Costner didn’t wax sympathetically when reacting to John Dutton’s death in the midseason premiere, and apparently wasn’t interested enough to see how it all played out.
In a video shared by Daily Mail, Kevin Costner appeared to be out and about enjoying the Christmastime weather in Aspen, Colorado, where he owns a massive ranch. The actor was apparently asked about his take on Yellowstone’s conclusion, which sparked exactly the kind of response that fans should expect at this point. In his words:
I'm not thinking about that. I don't think I've given it any thoughts,. we'll just let it go.
I suppose it would have been far weirder had Kevin Costner jumped up and down cheering loudly for "Life Is a Promise" with reckless abandon. Or even if he'd said a single positive thing about it. But at this point, it's expected that he would still be less than forthcoming, though at least he didn't take any unnecessary shots beyond voicing his own
After years of promoting Yellowstone to the fullest for its first four and a half seasons, Costner essentially didn't mention the show by name at all throughout most of 2023, during which time he also avoided talking about his former cast members and former boss Taylor Sheridan. He didn't even mention the series in his Golden Globes acceptance speech, and the Hollywood strikes only prolonged the BTS turmoil.
Though it seemed like sunlight might shine through the dark clouds early in 2024, at which point Kevin Costner seemed willing and arguably eager to return to the role of John Dutton. And yet cooler heads did not prevail, and the final six episodes of the Paramount hit's final season were recrafted to throw shade on John Dutton and kill him off via contracted murder.
Luke Grimes stoked some potentially feud-worthy flames recently when he claimed filming the final episodes without Costner was far easier, and involved far less conflict, than anything before. Those quotes sparked speculation about Grimes and Costner butting heads, and the actor was also asked if he'd spoken to his former on-screen son. Perhaps tellingly, he first kept silent, and then verbally shut the questioning down by saying:
We're done talking.
Obviously that doesn't prove any feelings of ill will on Kevin Costner's part, and he was even nice about, telling the guy questioning him to be careful and not slip on the icy roads. But it didn't exactly make his and Grimes' relationship seem like sunshine and ranbows either.
Fans can find Costner heading up his passion project Horizon, whose first chapter is currently streaming with a Max subscription, while Yellowstone is streamable with a Peacock subscription.