Everything Kevin Costner said about his death in Yellowstone

Kevin Costner is not on Yellowstone more, but he still has some thoughts on the direction the show took his character, John Dutton, after his departure.

The Oscar winner confirmed his departure from the Paramount Network drama in June 2024 after months of speculation over whether he would appear in the final episodes of Season 5.

“After a year and a half of hard work Horizon and do all things that are necessary, and think about them Yellowstonethat beloved series that I love and that I know you love,” Costner began in a video shared via social media at the time. “I just realized that I can’t continue Season 5B or the future. It was something that really changed me. I loved it. And I know you loved it. I just wanted to let you know that I won’t be coming back. I love the relationship we’ve been able to develop, and I’ll see you in the movie.

Rumors of Costner’s departure began in early 2023 after the end of Season 5A. Reports circulated that Costner disagreed with Yellowstone co-creator Taylor Sheridan about the timing of the production, which overlaps with the filming of Costner’s four-part film Horizon movie saga. The duo denied bad blood, but Sheridan later said he was “disappointed” that Costner was not interested in continuing the show.

Although Sheridan said in June 2023 that he doesn’t “f– you car crashes” in his writing, he still killed John Dutton in the season 5B premiere, albeit not in a car crash. On the November 10, 2024 episode, fans immediately learned that John was murdered by an assassin hired by Sarah Atwood (Dawn Olivieri). The assassin staged the scene to look like a suicide, but Beth (Kelly Reilly) and Kayce (Luke Grimes) immediately suspected that not everything was as it seemed.

Costner, meanwhile, claims not to have seen the episode, but has been sharing his thoughts on it since it aired. Keep scrolling for everything he said about John’s death:

Related: How ‘Yellowstone’ Addressed Kevin Costner’s Exit in the Season 5B Premiere

Yellowstone finally returned for season 5B after a nearly two-year hiatus – and fans finally learned the fate of Kevin Costner’s character, John Dutton. Spoilers for Yellowstone ahead. During the season 5B premiere in Yellowstone on Sunday, November 10, John Dutton met an untimely end. Although police initially thought he had died by suicide, […]

Not that interested

The day after the Season 5B premiere aired, Costner said he was unaware that the first episode without him had finally premiered. “I’m going to be completely honest. I didn’t know it actually aired last night,” he said during a Nov. 11, 2024 interview on SiriusXM’s The Michael Smerconish Program. ‘That is a moment to swear to God. I’ve seen ads with my face everywhere and I think, ‘Gosh, that’s not me.’ But I didn’t know yesterday was the thing.’

He noted that he had not seen the episode but heard what happened, and joked, “I heard it’s suicide, so that doesn’t make me want to rush out and watch it.”

Praise for the writers

In the same interview, Costner praised the Yellowstone team because he always made up good stories – and hinted that he knew John’s ‘suicide’ might not be what it seemed. “They’re pretty smart people,” he said. “Maybe it’s a red herring. Who knows? They are very good. And they are going to find out.”

Kudos to the fans

As the second episode of Season 5B aired, Costner shared his thoughts on fan reaction to John’s fate. “Fans have a voice in things, and they choose to follow things,” he said E! News on November 17, 2024.

The actor went on to say that he told Sheridan about John’s death “a while ago” but had no interest in what happens now. “They do what they want to do,” he said. “That’s fine with me.”

No thoughts

During an interview on November 17, 2024 with Entertainment tonightCostner confirmed that he still hasn’t seen the episode where John dies. “I haven’t seen it, so I don’t really have an opinion on it,” he joked.

Letting go

Costner doubled down on his lack of feelings for him Yellowstone comes to an end.

‘I don’t think about it [the Yellowstone finale]I don’t think I thought about it,” he said in a video obtained by the Daily mail on December 18. “We just let it go.”