Kevin Costner TooOOotally Didn't Know That 'Yellowstone' Aired This Week
This story contains spoilers for season 5 of Yellowstone.
So, what does Kevin Costner think of Yellowstone's return this week? Well, the leading man is no longer a part of the hit Western drama following a feud with creator Taylor Sheridan—and now, he seems a tad bitter about how his character was quickly written off the show.
"I’m going to be perfectly honest. I didn’t know it was actually airing last night," he told SiriusXM’s “The Michael Smerconish Program” the morning after the premiere aired. "Swear to God. I mean, I’ve been seeing ads with my face all over the place and I’m thinking, ‘Gee, I’m not in that one.'"
Gee indeed, Kevin! I have to say: Costner is a little hard to believe, especially since he mentions seeing the ads that read, "THE EPIC RETURN NOVEMBER 10" for months now. According to The Hollywood Reporter, over 16 million viewers watched Yellowstone season 5's mid-season premiere. That’s the largest first-night audience in Yellowstone’s history. Everyone and their dog wanted to find out what happened to John Dutton. You’re telling me that John Dutton himself didn’t want to know? May I remind you that Costner won the Golden Globe Award for his performance just last year. John Dutton has to mean something to the actor.
“I didn’t see it,” Costner continued. “I heard it’s a suicide, so that doesn’t make me want to rush to go see it.” That’s partly true. In a controversial move, Sheridan killed off the Dutton family patriarch in an assassination that the villains staged to look like an off-camera suicide. Costner did not appear in the episode. It’s... a bit complicated. “Maybe it’s a red herring,” Costner (correctly) guessed. “Who knows? They’re very good. And they’ll figure that out."
Costner also spent some time doubling down that he did not “quit” Yellowstone. Though he set out to direct and star in a demanding four-part Western film series of his own titled Horizon, the former Yellowstone star insists that Paramount’s hectic scheduling is to blame.
“There was contractual things that would allow for both things to be done, but because both things were contractual, you had to make room for the other thing,” Costner explained. “I had 300 people waiting for me, I couldn’t help them anymore. I just simply couldn’t help them. But I didn’t quit the show … everybody has to live up to what they say they’re going to do. And it doesn’t matter what business you’re in.”
Whichever way Costner’s departure shook out, Yellowstone fans now find themselves on a completely new course for the finale. From what I’ve seen of the fan response so far, no one seems happy with where the series is heading without him.
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