Kevin Costner reveals whether he’d return to Yellowstone after his abrupt exit

Costner played rancher John Dutton for four and a half seasons before he shocked fans when he exited the series.

Kevin Costner has revealed the likelihood of him returning to Yellowstone following the drama surrounding his exit.

The Hollywood star told CBS Sunday Morning that he’s willing to return to the hit Paramount series, which recently started production on the second half of its fifth and final season.

“Yeah, if I liked the story, where it was going, I would go back,” Costner admitted.

He further clarified that he didn’t have to leave the show to complete his new movie, Horizon, despite previous claims.

“I did everything that I was contracted to do with Yellowstone,” he explained.  

Kevin Costner hasn’t ruled out making a return to the smash hit series. Photo: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images.

Costner played rancher John Dutton for four and a half seasons before he exited the series and started working on his western movie Horizon: an American Saga.

His latest remarks come after the 69-year-old actor said last month that he “lived up” to his contract despite ongoing speculation to the contrary.

He also opened up about the series of events that led to the demise of his time on the series.

“There was no script,” Costner, who has yet to film the second half of season five (5B), revealed.

“And then things imploded. You’ve been reading one version [of the show’s issues] for a year and a half.”

Multiple sources had previously claimed that Costner only wanted to work for one week to film the rest of the episodes. This would have proven incredibly difficult for production, considering Costner was the star of the show.

Costner claims constant delays sparked chaos in his schedule and hit back at claims about his work ethic.

Costner faced claims regarding his work ethic that he has since denied. Picture: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images.

“I left my movie Horizon to be on time for them for 5B,” Costner said. “I left exactly when they wanted, and it made it hard on me. It turns out they didn’t have the scripts for 5B. They needed four more days just to complete the first eight episodes. I left early to give them what they needed to have a complete eight, and I felt bad that the audience didn’t get 10. They didn’t have the scripts for anything else.”

He continued: “So, what you read in the end was that I said, ‘Well, look, I’m doing my movie. If you want me to work a week because you want to kill me or whatever else, I can give you a week.’ I really didn’t have that week to give them, but I said, I’ll do that. And then they [spun that] into, I only wanted to work a week.”

“Do you think that’s who I am? I’ve never missed a day of work. I’ve never left before fulfilling my contractual obligations. A lot of times, I stay as much as I can.”

Costner, who has faced tough criticism from fans over the show’s future, went on to share that he had been left “bothered” by the show’s alleged lack of support following his decision to exit.