Kevin Costner says he’d love to return to Yellowstone but wonders if the ship has sailed

While Kevin Costner is busy promoting his upcoming two-part Western at CinemaCon, he’s making headlines by saying he’d “love” to return for the final episodes of Yellowstone. Costner’s Yellowstone exit caused quite a stir, with the actor going so far as to threaten a lawsuit, saying he’s owed $12 million for the second half of season five. Will Costner return as John Dutton for the final episodes of the series? Let’s see what he has to say.

Speaking with Entertainment Tonight, Costner said, “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. 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’s statement is tricky. He reportedly wanted to approve storylines for his character and have a direct hand in deciding Dutton’s fate. However, like many creators, Taylor Sheridan might prefer something other than giving Costner creative control.

“[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 added. “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’s words could be moot, seeing as the scripts for the second half of season five are complete, and production is likely to begin shortly. There’s also a chance Sheridan will want to avoid being bothered with Costner after returning to the drawing board following the actor’s exit. Rewriting the second half of Yellowstone could have been challenging, and scrapping the new ideas to bring Costner back to the fold is a significant hurdle.

What do you think about Costner’s desire to return to Yellowstone to “finish the story?” Is this verbal gesture too little, too late? Is Sheridan’s best move to soldier on without Costner and then focus on his other shows? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.