Why did Kevin Costner leave Yellowstone before season 5B return?

Obviously, we know that one of the big headlines entering Yellowstone season 5B is the departure of one Kevin Costner. Because of that, there is also another key question to think about — why in the world is it happening? Why would this show want to take out one of TV’s most iconic characters?

Well, the simplest answer here is that really, they did not have a choice. It was Costner’s return to depart the Paramount Network hit in between the first and second halves of this season.

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Now, there has been a lot of scuttlebutt and rumors around this exit for a long time now, and there is no point in getting into some of the minutiae about it. Take, for example, how many days Costner allegedly had to work on the show in the midst of planning out his Horizon movies, or how the schedule for Yellowstone was supposedly changed over time. Those are the sort of things that are tough to get specifics on.

What we can at least say is that Costner himself said on social media that he would not be coming back to the series earlier this year, citing the time he needed to spend on his movies. There was at least hope before this that he could turn in some sort of small cameo, but it is really the only definite statement he’s put out on the subject.

Were there differences between his vision of the story and Taylor Sheridan’s? That’s the sort of stuff that is hard to know. What is clear, though, is that there are some other things that Kevin the actor wanted to do and, for one reason for another, the show did not fit in with his availability. It is a shame that the saga of John is ending in this way, even if everyone involved has promised that there will be some crazy fallout to his departure.

Related – Read more news regarding Yellowstone and the eventual goodbye to John Dutton now

Are you going to miss Kevin Costner on Yellowstone moving forward?

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