With fans still confused over Kevin Costner’s departure from Yellowstone, some fans think a Season 1 plot could explain his absence in the final episodes of Season 5.
As Yellowstone has reached its fifth season, there’s arguably a sour taste left in the mouths of its fans. Not only has the second part of the series been incredibly delayed by ongoing production issues, but leading man Costner has also distanced himself from the show.
In Yellowstone’s place, Costner is currently working on his own epic Western Horizon, a two-part film exploring both the Old West and the American Civil War.
With plenty of confusion lingering over Kevin Costner’s exit, some fans now think a Season 1 plot could be fundamental to why he left Yellowstone in the first place.
Yellowstone fans think Season 1 could explain Kevin Costner’s exit
According to some fans, John Dutton’s colon cancer plot in Season 1 could explain how Kevin Costner’s character could leave Yellowstone.
During earlier seasons of the show, John’s illness was instrumental to Dutton family life – although he didn’t originally tell his children at all. Beth and Jamie catch on, though the cancer is removed. However, perhaps all is not what it seems by Season 2 Episode 1 when it’s revealed that John collapsed after a ruptured ulcer.
“Does John Dutton still have Cancer orrrrr….?” one Reddit user said after the fact. “6 bullet holes and cancer, yet he seems to be in fine shape. Or is the cancer just another enormous plot hole they forgot to tow?”
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“The character, John Dutton had cancer and it was removed. The character, John Dutton had an ulcer. The character, John Dutton was shot. Unclear how any of that could be construed as a ‘plot hole’,” another fan explained.
However, other fans think that if John’s cancer were to come back, it would be the ideal reason to write Kevin Costner out of Yellowstone Season 5 Part 2.
Speaking about his departure (via The Independent), Costner said: “There were issues about creative. I tried to break the logjam. They walked away.” Before this, series creator Taylor Sheridan claimed: “My last conversation with Kevin was that he had this passion project he wanted to direct. He and the network were arguing about when he could be done with Yellowstone. I said, ‘We can certainly work a schedule toward [his preferred exit date],’ which we did.”
For most Yellowstone fans, the idea of Costner not returning is a complete disappointment.
“I am really disappointed. I love the show. Honestly one of my favorites. The last episode gave us nothing in terms of closure for him, and I was really excited for the next season,” one fan summed up on Reddit. “He is the heartbeat of the show IMO so very disappointed, as much as I love the family drama and all the cowboy stuff his presence is integral, hope they manage to find a good workaround,” added another.
