How hit show wrote out Kevin Costner

The fate of Kevin Costner’s hugely popular Yellowstone character has finally been revealed following months of behind the scenes drama.

WARNING – Yellowstone spoilers follow

Ever since the first episode of Yellowstone’s debuted in 2018, Hollywood star Kevin Costner has portrayed John Dutton III, the patriarch of the Dutton family.

The smash-hit series, which airs locally on Stan, follows the Dutton family as they fight to protect their land from political rivals and land developers.

However, after some behind-the-scenes drama involving Costner, the fate of his character has finally been revealed.

Kevin Costner stars in the TV series Yellowstone. Supplied by Stan.

In the first episode of the second half of Season 5, it was revealed that John Dutton was killed after a fatal gunshot wound in the bathroom of the Montana governor’s mansion. It appears that Costner wasn’t on set to film the scene, because while his character’s bloodied corpse is show the camera never cuts to his face.

Costner’s co-star, Luke Grimes, recently shared his thoughts on the Hollywood actor’s departure from the show.

“Him not coming back felt like, ‘Okay, we’re going to have to land this plane now for real,’” Grimes told People Magazine.

“I think the patriarch leaving was always going to be part of the story. That’s always where it was headed is like, what do these kids do? What does this family do when their rock is gone?”

“Whatever the circumstances may be, [it] definitely felt like, ‘Okay, we’re coming in for a landing,’” he said of Costner’s exit. “It definitely felt different.”

Costner first broke news of his decision to quit back in June in a video he shared on Instagram.

“I 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’s required, and thinking about Yellowstone, that beloved series that I love, that I know you love, I just realised that I’m not going to be able to continue Season 5B or into the future,” he said.

Luke Grimes, Wes Bentley, Kelly Reilly, Kelsey Asbille Chow, Cole Hauser and Gil Birmingham attend the Paramount's "Yellowstone" Season 5 Part 2 Premiere at Museum of Modern Art. Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images.

“It was something that really changed me. I loved it. And I know you loved it. And I just wanted to let you know that I won’t be returning and I love the relationship we’ve been able to develop and I’ll see you at the movies.”

Despite not being alive, the director of the first six episodes of the new season, Christina Voros, shared that his character is still a heavily featured presence.

“To say any more than that would potentially compromise all the work that went into redacting the scripts,” she told Hollywood Reporter. “But I think the reason people are wondering, ‘Is he, isn’t he? Where is he, where is he not?’ is because he is the patriarch, and his presence is an essential component to the story. John Dutton is still central.”

Originally published as How hit show wrote out Kevin Costner