Kevin Costner recently unveiled the first look at his upcoming multipart Western Horizon: An American Saga. However, for the vast majority of Yellowstone fans, the only saga they want is the conclusion of the Dutton family’s story and a glimpse of what comes next. Costner reinvigorated his career by headlining Yellowstone as John Dutton, but his clashes with Paramount Network and showrunner Taylor Sheridan have left Costner’s future with the franchise in question.
Although we’re still several months away from the return of the series, we’re sharing everything we know about Yellowstone season 5, part 2. And we’ll keep updating this post when anything newsworthy comes up.
The first photos of Yellowstone season 5, part 2 have arrived
With the new episodes now just a few months away, Paramount Network has released the first photos of Yellowstone season 5, part 2. And the first pic, seen above, doesn’t look very good for John Dutton. His estranged adoptive son, Jamie Dutton (Wes Bentley), is appearing alongside Governor Perry (Wendy Moniz), which may be how the show chooses to acknowledge the death of the previous governor, John.
The second pic features Thomas Rainwater (Gil Birmingham) and Mo (Moses Brings Plenty) presumably making their own plans for Yellowstone ranch.
Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser) has a quiet moment with a resting Carter (Finn Little).
It wouldn’t be Yellowstone without a porch side scene. In this case, Monica Long (Kelsey Asbille), Tate Dutton (Brecken Merrill), and Kacey Dutton (Luke Grimes).
Chances are very good that the future of the show will revolve around Rip Wheeler and Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly).
Rip and Beth are seemingly joined at the hip, and their bond may determine whether the Duttons still have control of the ranch at the end of the season.
When will Yellowstone season 5, part 2 premiere?
To celebrate the sixth anniversary of Yellowstone‘s premiere, Paramount Network has finally announced when the final episodes will release. Yellowstone season 5, part 2 will begin on Sunday, November 10 on Paramount Network. Viewers in Canada will be able to watch it on Paramount+ on the same day. In America, Peacock retains the streaming rights for Yellowstone, but it’s currently unknown how quickly those episodes will appear on the service.
Who is in the cast of Yellowstone season 5 part 2?
The core cast expected to appear in Yellowstone season 5 part 2 includes:
- Luke Grimes as Kayce Dutton
- Kelly Reilly as Bethany “Beth” Dutton
- Wes Bentley as James Michael “Jamie” Dutton
- Cole Hauser as Rip Wheeler
- Kelsey Asbille as Monica Long Dutton
- Gil Birmingham as Chief Thomas Rainwater
- Brecken Merrill as Tate Dutton
- Denim Richards as Colby Mayfield
- Forrie J. Smith as Lloyd Pierce
- Ian Bohen as Ryan
- Jen Landon as Teeter
- Finn Little as Carter
- Ryan Bingham as Walker
Will Kevin Costner return for Yellowstone season 5, part 2?
Despite the hope that Costner and Paramount Network would work something out, the actor has definitively announced that he will not be back for the final episodes of Yellowstone.
In a video posted on his Instagram account, Costner said, “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 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 5 or into the future.”
“I loved it and I know you loved it, and I just wanted to let you know that I won’t be returning,” Costner added. “I love the relationship we’ve been able to develop, and I’ll see you at the movies.”
Costner’s public attempts to restart a dialogue about his return began earlier this year. Matthew Belloni of Puck News reported in March 2024 that Costner was telling people he will return in some capacity, perhaps in a cameo.
“Kevin Costner has been telling people he’s planning to return for at least a cameo and possibly more, but there are currently no discussions for him to do that,” Belloni wrote. “Even if Costner significantly lowers his financial and time commitment demands, Sheridan may not want to bother reopening his finished scripts to accommodate a send-off for John Dutton.”
Costner teased a possible return to the show
Despite the fact that the show appears to be moving on without him, Costner reiterated his interest in coming back, via Variety in mid-June.
“I’ve supported that thing and I’ve loved it,” Costner said during a June 2024 appearance on Today. “It’s been really important to me. I would love to go back under the right circumstances I think that all of us want. For me, it really needs to be the right circumstances.”
Even now, Costner refuses to fully give up on the possibility of his return.
“Saying there’s a chance, there’s always a chance,” added Costner. “I love the thing. You’ve got to be really clear about that.”
Does Kevin Costner want to come back to Yellowstone?
After almost a year of silence on the issue, Costner finally made some public comments about his potential return to Yellowstone for the final episodes. The good news is that he does want to return, but even Costner doesn’t know whether it’s going to happen.
“I’d like to be able to do it but we haven’t been able to … I thought I was going to make seven [seasons] but right now we’re at five,” Costner told Entertainment Tonight. “So how it works out — I hope it does — but they’ve got a lot of different shows going on. Maybe it will. Maybe this will circle back to me. If it does and I feel really comfortable with [it], I’d love to do it.”
Costner also appeared to indicate that he wants a say in the fate of his character.
“[Dutton] needs to be proactive in what happens, and I’ve kind of had my own fantasy how [the character’s final arc] might be,” Costner said. “But that’s Taylor’s thing. I said as much to him a while back. I had thoughts how it could happen, but we just have to see.”
Costner struck a more conciliatory note during an interview at the beginning of May.
“No, [Sheridan and I] haven’t [talked],” Costner said. “He’s doing special work in a lot of different ways. He’s very prolific about the things he does, and if he sees me in something that he wants to do, I’ll look at it just the way I did Yellowstone and maybe we will end up doing something together. He likes a lot of the things that I like, and the idea of us working together is not out of the question for me. The subjects he chooses are very interesting to me. I like a lot of that stuff. Yellowstone stands as something that could continue. But that is a Taylor question. But other things that he’s doing I think are really, really good. He likes the same subjects that I do.”
Kevin Costner shares his reasons for leaving Yellowstone
While Costner was feeling more hopeful about the future earlier in May, he came out with a more combative tone during his interview with Deadline on May 13, and he provided his side of the story for the first time.
“Well, I haven’t felt good about it the last year, what with the way they’ve talked about it,” Costner said. “It wasn’t truthful. So now I’m talking about a little bit about what the real truth of it was. I made a contract for seasons five, six and seven. In February, after a two- or three-month negotiation, they made another contract. They wanted to redo that one, and instead of seasons six and seven, it was 5A and 5B, and maybe we’ll do six. They weren’t able to make those. Horizon was set in the middle, but Yellowstone was first position. I fit [Horizon] into the gaps. They just kept moving their gaps.”
“I don’t want to get down in the gutter with the Yellowstone thing but what I’m telling you is straight up,” Costner said. “I have taken a beating from those f***ing guys and I know a lot of times where it’s coming from. I just elected not to get into that. But if you know me well enough, I made Yellowstone the first priority, and to insinuate anything else would be wrong. I did not initiate any of those things. They did. They were doing a tap dance and this poor guy was also having to write so much. And I don’t know why they didn’t stick up for me.”
“I could say ‘no comment’ all the way through,” Costner continued. “I won’t say my life is fair game or that any questions are fair game, but this is a realistic question. I will address it. They should have known that there was going to be an opportunity for me to say something. I didn’t have to answer the slings and arrows over the last year and a half, because I’ve just been busy working. They’ve been pretty slick about keeping their hands off; nobody was ever on the record.”
Costner also forcefully pushed back at the rumor that his commitments on Horizon kept him from shooting Yellowstone.
“That’s not true,” Costner said. “There were blocks of time that we didn’t get 10 episodes done. Basically, we were starting in April and May, and we’d usually go through August. We’d do 10. We didn’t even get 10 done during that time. I only worked 43 days. So that’s bulls***. That’s a lie. That’s not correct. They sent me away for seven days to go to London, to go to England during Covid, to do [promotion]. They made the contract and they picked the days.”
Costner also explained the origin of the report that he was only willing to film a week of Yellowstone season 5, part 2.
“They didn’t have the scripts for anything else,” Costner said. “So, what you read in the end was that I said, ‘Well, look, I’m doing my movie. If you want me to work a week because you want to kill me or whatever else, I can give you a week.’ I really didn’t have that week to give them, but I said, I’ll do that. And then they [spun that] into, I only wanted to work a week.”
“I’m usually working six or seven days per each, whatever they are,” Costner said. “And they took that and a source on their side spun that into, well, he only wants to work a week for a whole season. Do you think that’s who I am? I’ve never missed a day of work. I’ve never left before fulfilling my contractual obligations. A lot of times, I stay as much as I can. In fact, I worked the nine-day stretch just to try to help them in July, when I was starting [Horizon] on August 1. I worked a Saturday and Sunday for them, and they still needed four more days. I gave it to them, when I thought we were going to do this so-called B, but there was no B thing. I was just going to give ‘em those extra four days.”
Even during this interview, Costner left the door open for his return. But it certainly seems a lot less likely now.
What will happen to John Dutton if Costner doesn’t return?
Sheridan had a very revealing quote on the subject when speaking to The Hollywood Reporter in June 2023. He said that Costner’s exit “truncates the closure of his character. It doesn’t alter it, but it truncates it.” This implies that John Dutton won’t survive the end of Yellowstone even if Costner does reappear.
Via ScreenRant, one of the theories regarding Dutton’s fate is that he will meet his demise from colon cancer. During the first season, Dutton survived his first bout with that illness. If that’s the way John Dutton dies, then it would bring his fate full circle.
What do the other cast members think about Kevin Costner’s exit?
Luke Grimes, who plays John Dutton’s youngest son, Kayce Dutton, recently shared his thoughts about Kevin Costner’s apparent departure from the show. And he sounds largely supportive of Costner’s decision.
“Whatever happened there is unfortunate if it’s changed anything about how the show was going to unfold,” said Grimes during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “I know, [Costner] got busy with his movies that were like passion projects. At a certain point, you gotta do what you gotta do, man; you gotta do what you love.”
Ian Bohen has a bold prediction about the Yellowstone series finale
While speaking with Entertainment Tonight, Yellowstone co-star Ian Bohen revealed that he hasn’t seen any of the scripts from the final episodes yet, but he is aware of where the story is going. He also dropped a very bold prediction about the series finale.
“[The fans] are going to get the [best] conclusion that could possibly be written,” Bohen said. “Everything will land in a way that is perfectly set. A lot of shows just kind of finish… and they don’t satisfy you. This will be completed in a way that it will make sense.”
“I don’t know that any show has finished this strongly ever,” Bohen added. “We’re expecting to have the best series finale in history. Overconfident maybe, but I think that’s what it’s going to be. We thank everyone for their patience… It’ll be worth the wait, I promise.”
Bohen also indicated that he expects Yellowstone‘s final season to resume production in May, but it could also be pushed to later in the summer.
Will the spinoff series serve as Yellowstone season 6?
That is the general idea that Paramount Network sold to fans when the end of Yellowstone was announced. However, a report on Puck states that three of the show’s principal cast members, Kelly Reilly, Cole Hauser, and Luke Grimes, are in a pay dispute with Paramount Network because they want significant raises to reprise their respective roles as Beth Dutton, Rip Wheeler, and Kayce Dutton.
The report also indicates that those cast members have to be paid for Yellowstone season 6 even though it won’t be produced. That was a provision in their contracts for the previous series. There’s no indication yet whether the actors and Paramount Network have come to terms. If they don’t re-sign with the new show, then the spinoff series will lose key characters who could have been the bridge to the future of the franchise.
Cole Hauser and Kelly Reilly tease potential returns in Yellowstone spinoff
Yellowstone season 5, part 2, may not be the last time fans see Rip and Beth. In an April 2024 interview with Country Living, Hauser explained his focus is on finishing the final episodes of the series. Hauser then hinted that there could be a future for Rip and Beth in future Yellowstone iterations.
“I’m so focused on finishing Yellowstone the way it needs to be finished right now — well, just the show itself,” Hauser said. “We’ll see where that leads, but I know that there’s some stuff on the horizon when it comes to Taylor’s ideas for Kelly Reilly, myself, and some of the other cast. I’m excited to see where he goes creatively with that, but right now it’s just, let’s finish strong; let’s do the best we can.”
Reilly shared a similar viewpoint about the spinoff in a March 2024 interview with Collider. Once again, the goal for Reilly is to finish Yellowstone on a high note. However, Reilly did not close the door on appearing in the spinoff.
“I just care about finishing [the main show] with as much care, as much passion, and as much love as I can muster to put into it,” Reilly said. “That’s what I care about. I’m sort of prepping for that now, [and] that’s my tunnel vision thing that I care about most. And what goes on beyond that? There are discussions, you know. Don’t believe everything you read. It’s just nonsense. But we’re gonna, you know, let’s wait and see. I don’t have an answer right now. But we’ll see.”
Which Dutton will survive: Jamie or Beth?
The first half of Yellowstone season 5 featured the complete deterioration of the relationship between Beth and her adoptive brother – who doubles as the black sheep of the family – Jamie Dutton (Wes Bentley). Beth and Jamie even openly contemplated murdering each other in a struggle that may destroy the Duttons. That is one of the big unresolved plotlines heading into the second half of the season.
Note that Bently’s name was not mentioned in Puck’s report about Yellowstone cast members seeking a raise for the spinoff series. If there’s any veracity to that story, it may mean that Jamie isn’t going to make it out of Yellowstone season 5, part 2. That doesn’t necessarily mean that Jamie will die, it could also mean incarceration or exile from his family. For now, we can only speculate.
Will Matthew McConaughey appear in Yellowstone season 5, part 2?
If Sheridan wanted to follow the established model for TV spinoffs, Matthew McConaughey’s new character from the upcoming spinoff would be introduced in Yellowstone season 5, part 2. The only problem with that idea is that there’s no official report that McConaughey has even signed on for the spinoff.
McConaughey’s name has been mentioned in conjunction with the spinoff since February 2023. Since that time, all of the Hollywood trades have simply said that McConaughey is in talks to lead the spinoff. So it’s just talk until McConaughey actually signs on the dotted line. For now, there’s no indication that he has.
How many episodes of Yellowstone are left?
Originally, only six episodes were planned to conclude the series. But Sheridan told THR in 2023 that he has the leeway to change that, if he chooses to. “If I think it takes 10 episodes to wrap it up, they’ll give me 10,” said Sheridan. “It’ll be as long as it needs to be.”
When will Yellowstone season 5, part 2 begin filming?
Via The Wrap, Yellowstone season 5, part 2 has officially begun filming after a nearly two-year hiatus. As with the previous seasons, production is on-location in Montana. Notably absent from the news was any word about Kevin Costner returning to the show. Now that cameras are rolling again, it’s looking increasingly unlikely that Costner will return, barring some last minute deal.
The current production schedule means that Yellowstone season 5, part 2 will be able to make its premiere window later this year.
Will we see more of young John Dutton in Yellowstone season 5, part 2?
While it’s still unknown whether or not Kevin Costner will return, John Dutton will be popping up in season 5, part 2. Josh Lucas, the actor who plays a younger version of Costner’s character, told Deadline on March 14 that he will return as the character for the final season of the show.
“I think we’re going to do 10 or more so episodes” : Josh Lucas reveals of the final season of #YellowstoneTV pic.twitter.com/WFaSf3MWRw
— Deadline (@DEADLINE) March 15, 2024
The actor revealed that part 2 will be “10 episodes or so,” which, while still vague, does narrow it down a bit in terms of how many times we’ll see the Dutton clan this season.
