Yellowstone Season 5 Part 2, which will be the final episodes of the entire series, may not feature Kevin Costner, the show's lead actor.
Paramount's Yellowstone is one of the biggest TV shows of the past decade. Every fan is currently waiting for Season 5 Part 2 to be released, bringing the entire series to an end.
Kayce Dutton actor Luke Grimes revealed that Season 5 Part 2 still hasn't begun filming yet due to the actors' strike, and many fans have particularly been wondering if series lead Kevin Costner will be a part of the final episodes seeing as how he was the center of some behind-the-scenes drama surrounding his filming schedule.
Will Kevin Costner Be In Yellowstone Season 5 Part 2?
In a recent episode of Matthew Belloni's The Town podcast, it was reported that Yellowstone Season 5 Part 2 will not feature lead actor Kevin Costner at all.
Belloni stated that, to "[his] understanding," Costner will not be present "in those episodes" of Season 5 Part 2. However, seeing as how the upcoming episodes have not been filmed, Belloni made sure to state that Costner's absence was the case "as of now:"
"And the question is whether Costner is in those final episodes of this season of 'Yellowstone' and my understanding is that, as of now, he is not gonna be in those episodes."
Costner recently told Paramount and Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan that he would only dedicate one week of his schedule to filming the upcoming episodes of the show so that he could continue to work on his own Western passion project, Horizon.
Belloni talked about how Costner's absence from Yellowstone could take away some chances for him to promote Horizon, but that the release of Season 5 Part 2 would still "remind people that" the actor has an upcoming project:
"So, he won’t get the benefit of being in those and being able to promote off of that. But, just the fact that 'Yellowstone' is on will probably remind people that, ‘Oh yeah, Kevin Costner has a Western coming out…’ And he’s known for this kind of content."
However, Belloni seems fairly confident that Costner will not be in Yellowstone Season 5 Part 2, as he stated in his most recent newsletter that Paramount won't be releasing the upcoming episodes of the show until November 2024, which is "well after Kevin's two-part Western Opus Horizon:"
"It’s not why they did it, but Paramount bumping the final episodes of the now Costner-free 'Yellowstone' to November is a fitting kiss-off because it’s well after Kevin’s two-part Western opus 'Horizon' hits theaters this summer, thus denying him the promotion that would have come with the return of TV’s No. 1 show."
How Will Kevin Costner's Absence Affect Yellowstone Season 5 Part 2?
Yellowstone has many major characters and plotlines, but Kevin Costner's John Dutton is the bonafide center of the entire project, and he has been since the show's inception in 2018.
Season 5 Part 1 left off with Costner's character's (who is the governor of Montana) son calling for his impeachment, which initially set up a major showdown between different members of the family that would have been the main conflict in Part 2.
However, now that Costner is gone, Part 2 will likely be forced to feature some sort of time jump and explain why John Dutton is absent.
Costner's departure also means that Taylor Sheridan will likely have to rewrite the majority of Season 5 Part 2 to put greater focus on other plotlines such as the cattle that have to be moved to Texas.
Yellowstone Season 5 Part 2 is currently slated to begin filming at the beginning of 2024 and will be released on the Paramount Network in November 2024.
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