‘Yellowstone’: Will Kevin Costner Appear in New Episodes of Season 5B?

It’s also a little confusing, as Costner reiterated just a few months ago, when filming for the show started again, that he won’t be part of the cast.

So what’s going on with the show and is Costner involved in the new episodes? Here’s what we know so far.

Will Kevin Costner appear in the second half of “Yellowstone” season 5?

Despite its claims to the contrary, it certainly looks it.

In a teaser trailer released by Paramount Network ahead of the show’s return in November, Costner’s character is the first to be seen by audiences.

Two scenes involving Costner are shown: one in which he appears on the farm and another showing John and his right-hand man Rip (Cole Hauser) watching something off-screen catch fire.

The actor previously said he was unable to fit filming new episodes of the show into his schedule, so scenes could have been shot in 2022, before Costner’s highly publicized spat with creator Taylor Sheridan.

The Hollywood Reporter said in June that Costner was not yet attached to the new batch of episodes when filming began in May, supporting the idea that the scenes were shot for the first half of season five but ended up on the cutting room floor from whatever reason.

Representatives for Costner, as well as the production companies behind the series, MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios, did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Will Kevin Costner’s character die in ‘Yellowstone’?

While Costner’s character appears alive and kicking in the brief glimpses in the teaser, it has previously been suggested that the end of ‘Yellowstone’ could see the aging farmer meet his maker.

Fans recall that a major plot point in the show’s first season was that John was dying of cancer, putting pressure on his decision about who to leave the farm in his will. This storyline was picked up when the series was renewed by the network and there was no mention of John dying in the last few seasons.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter last year, Sheridan hinted that the end of “Yellowstone” could see John finally killed off.

Sheridan said the “Field of Dreams” star’s decision to leave the show “truncates the closure of his character,” but hinted that he had the character’s fate mapped out since the beginning of “Yellowstone.”

Considering that Sheridan’s original plan was to have John die at the end of season one, it seems like a good guess that the show will end with this event and the succession plan finally being put into action.

Why did Kevin Costner leave ‘Yellowstone’?

In 2023, one month after the airing of the season five midseason finale, it was revealed that the future of the series was in jeopardy following an alleged spat between Sheridan and the Oscar winner.

Deadline, which broke the news, reported that the two could not agree on a shooting schedule for the next batch of episodes amid Costner’s commitments to his “Horizon” film series, in which he directs, produces, writer and actor.

Things got a little ugly in the press – it was alleged that Costner only offered to spend a week on set, while Sheridan is said to have dragged his feet with the scripts – and Costner said at one point that he “will probably go to court. ” in a salary dispute for the second half of season five.

The news that “Yellowstone” would come to an untimely end was a big blow to the series, which has become one of the most watched TV series in recent years.

But since then, things have moved on and it has been reported that the series may continue after all.

Will ‘Yellowstone’ Go On Without Kevin Costner?

That’s the question Sheridan and Paramount Network executives are pondering as the release date for season 5B nears.

Sheridan has already shown a knack for spinning a long story in the “Yellowstone” franchise, already creating two prequel series.

The latest word is that fan favorites Reilly and Hauser are in talks to own a sixth season of the show. The possibility was first reported by Puck earlier this year, with Deadline reporting in August that negotiations were underway.