‘Yellowstone’ Boss Taylor Sheridan Confirms the End of the Show Has Not Changed, Despite Kevin Costner’s Shocking Exit

Taylor Sheridan, the mastermind behind the hit series Yellowstone, has revealed more details about Kevin Costner’s surprising departure from the show. In an unexpected twist, Sheridan assured fans that the series ending remains unaltered, despite the early farewell to Costner’s character, John Dutton.

In a new interview, Sheridan opened up about the conclusion he’s always envisioned for Yellowstone and how Costner’s exit fits into that narrative. From his candid revelations to future projects, here’s a look at the course Sheridan is charting for Yellowstone’s grand finale.

Taylor Sheridan opens up about writing a conclusion for John Dutton

Costner’s surprising departure from Yellowstone forced Sheridan to call for an earlier curtain. Despite the unforeseen exit, Sheridan revealed that he had never intended Costner’s character to become a permanent fixture in the Yellowstone universe. 

In a frank chat with Hollywood Reporter, Sheridan dropped hints that John Dutton was never penciled in for the grand finale of the series. Keeping this in mind, the wrap-up of Yellowstone still adheres to the path outlined in Sheridan’s original movie script.

So, it’s probable that Dutton might, in the show’s vernacular, be “taken to the train station.”

Sheridan, though, chose to keep the precise manner of the Dutton family patriarch’s exit undisclosed. However, it’s quite evident that Costner’s character won’t survive beyond the conclusion of the fifth season.

Meanwhile, Sheridan is knee-deep in crafting a Yellowstone sequel, which is awaiting an official title. The spin-off is poised to carry forward the Dutton family saga, with the conspicuous absence of Costner.

The ‘Yellowstone’ boss confirms that Kevin Costner’s exit will not change the ending of his show

Over the past five seasons, Costner’s John Dutton has been the central figure in Yellowstone. But back in season 4, Sheridan announced that he wouldn’t continue John’s story for much longer. 

Before the launch of the fourth season, Sheridan hinted that the series had two additional seasons in the pipeline. As we previously reported, Sheridan has already said that Yellowstone isn’t the type of series that could run indefinitely.

This suggests that Sheridan had planned out John Dutton’s storyline early on in the series. With that in mind, Costner’s exit will not affect the conclusion of the series, despite it ending a little earlier than expected. 

Back in season 4, the Texas-born showrunner hadn’t broached the topic of Yellowstone’s finale with either Paramount Network or the studio. However, he revealed that the conversation would take place in the near future, hinting that he only planned six or so seasons for the show. 

A look at how Taylor Sheridan might end ‘Yellowstone’

Yellowstone has been a massive hit, and its prequels, 1932 and 1883, have followed suit. In fact, 1883 boasted the biggest audience for a cable premiere since Fear the Walking Dead in 2015. 

Given these impressive feats, it would be natural to think Sheridan might want to stretch the storyline as far as possible. However, the Oscar-nominated creator has always had a different plan in mind.

Sheridan has openly spoken about charting the course of the show toward a preconceived conclusion. And in a previous interview, Sheridan maintained that he wants an imminent rather than a drawn-out end.

“Well, I know how it ends. I’m writing to that ending,” Sheridan explained. “There’s only so much hovering one can do before the story starts to lose its locomotion; you can’t put it in neutral just because it’s successful. It will go as many years as it takes for me to tell the story, but you’re not going to see nine seasons of it. No way.”

Costner’s unexpected departure indeed fast-tracked Sheridan’s blueprint. But on the bright side, this hasn’t swayed how Sheridan intends to bring down the curtain on the popular series.

Besides Yellowstone, 1932 and 1883, Sheridan is also spinning a web around another spinoff, 6666. Additionally, the showrunner is working on a sequel to Yellowstone to carry on the Dutton story.