With Yellowstone closing in on its endgame, Kevin Costner is open to reprising the role of John Dutton.
News broke last year that Costner would not appear in the final installments of the Paramount Network drama, which is set to return later this year.
There has been much back and forth over the last year, as the award-winning actor’s availability was the big hurdle the series faced before it was canceled.
In a new interview with Entertainment Tonight at CinemaCon, Costner stunned fans by revealing he’s open to staging a comeback down the line.
“I’d like to be able to do [Season 5B],” Costner said in the aforementioned interview but hinted that a deal could not be reached.
“I loved making that series,” he continued.
Kevin Costner thought he’d be with Yellowstone for seven seasons
“I made five seasons of it. I thought I was going to make seven, but right now, we’re at five. So how it works out — I hope it does — but they’ve got a lot of different shows going on,” he added.
“Maybe this will circle back to me,” Costner shared.
“And if it does, and I feel really comfortable with it, I’d love to do it.”
Getting Costner back for the last-ever episodes would be a big get because knowing that we’ve already witnessed John Dutton’s final scenes is difficult for longtime fans because it wasn’t supposed to be that way.
The final episodes of Yellowstone have been written without Kevin Costner
Sometimes, things that happen away from projects take actors off the canvas. The rumored rift between Costner and series creator Taylor Sheridan has seemingly killed any hope of The Bodyguard alum returning.
Given the public nature of Costner’s exit, it’s also hard to imagine him being locked in for a cameo behind the scenes.
Sheridan wrote a version of the final episodes without Costner, and it would take time and money to change that at the eleventh hour.
If Paramount execs are happy with the Costner-less scripts, then they’ll get the green light and will be produced.
Before Costner’s exit, Yellowstone was supposed to return for a sixth season, but Paramount Global is taking a different approach.
Yellowstone is getting several spinoffs
A Matthew McConaughey-led spinoff titled 2024 is set to continue the Dutton family drama.
Yellowstone regulars Cole Hauser and Kelly Reilly were recently rumored to be at an impasse with producers over salary demands to appear on the show.
As a result, there’s a chance the show could move on without them.
We should get more clarity on the situation when filming begins because, right now, the entire Yellowstone universe’s future is up in the air.
Despite what Paramount Global has teased, many shows in that universe are still in the works and waiting to come to fruition.
Could Kevin Costner return?
We got two brilliant prequels in 1883 and 1923, but might that be all we see from the franchise?
At this point, little would surprise us, but we’d be shocked if Costner came back for the final episodes of Yellowstone.
That seems like a no-go at this stage.
Yellowstone is currently on hiatus. Season 5B is set to premiere in fall 2024. Stream Seasons 1-5 on Peacock.