And yet, in the first teaser for the upcoming second half of season five, the actor is front and center, rambling on — as his character John Dutton is wont to do — about legacies.
Costner's appearance in the trailer came as a surprise for fans of the Paramount Network series, given that first-look photos from the new episodes focused instead on a new generation of Duttons, excluding Costner completely.
It's also a little confusing, as Costner reiterated just a few months ago, when filming for the show started up again, that he wasn't going to be a part of the cast.
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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 his claims to the contrary, it sure looks it.
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In a teaser trailer released by Paramount Network ahead of the show's return in November, Costner's character is the first audiences see.
Two scenes involving Costner are shown: one in which he appears on the ranch and another which shows John and his right-hand man Rip (Cole Hauser) watching on as something off-screen goes up in flames.
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The actor has previously said he's not been able to fit filming new episodes of the show into his schedule, so the scenes may have been filmed back in 2022 before Costner's highly-publicized spat with creator Taylor Sheridan.
The Hollywood Reporter said in June that Costner was still unattached to the new batch of episodes when filming began in May, supporting the idea that the scenes were filmed for the first half of season five but ended up on the cutting room floor for 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 been previously suggested that the ending of "Yellowstone" could see the aging rancher meet his maker.
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Fans may recall that a major plot point in the show's first season was the fact that John was dying of cancer, putting pressure on his decision on who to leave the ranch to in his will. This storyline was retconned when the show was renewed by the network, and there has been no mention of John dying in the last few seasons.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter last year, Sheridan hinted that the ending of "Yellowstone" could see John finally getting killed off.
Sheridan said that the "Field of Dreams" star's decision to leave the show "truncates the closure of his character" but hinted that he'd had the character's fate mapped out since the early days of "Yellowstone."
Given 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 would end with that happening and the succession plan finally being put into action.
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Why did Kevin Costner leave "Yellowstone"?
Back in 2023, a month after the season five midseason finale aired, it was revealed that the future of the series was in jeopardy following an alleged falling out between Sheridan and the Oscar winner.
Deadline, which broke the news, reported that the two couldn't agree on the shooting schedule for the next batch of episodes amid Costner's commitments to his movie series "Horizon," in which he serves as director, producer, writer, and actor.
Things got a little ugly in the press — it was alleged that Costner offered to spend only a week on set, while Sheridan is said to have dragged his feet with the scripts — and Costner said at one point that he would "probably go to court" over a pay dispute for the second half of season five.
The news that "Yellowstone" would be coming to a premature end was a big blow to the show, which has become one of the most-watched TV series in recent years.
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But since then, things have moved forward, and it's been reported that the series might continue after all.
Will "Yellowstone" continue without Kevin Costner?
That's the question Sheridan and Paramount Network executives are seemingly mulling over as the release date of season 5B approaches.
Sheridan has already showcased his talent for spinning a long yarn out of the "Yellowstone" franchise, having already created two prequel series.
The latest word is that fan favorites Reilly and Hauser are in talks to headline 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.
