‘Yellowstone’ Cast Weighs in on Kevin Costner’s Exit: ‘It’s Hard to Imagine the Show Without Him’

After nearly two years, “Yellowstone” fans are finally about to receive the second half of Season 5 and potentially the conclusion of the beloved Dutton family saga, albeit with one giant piece of the series missing.

Following a very public disagreement between the lead of the show, Kevin Costner, and creator, Taylor Sheridan, over how writing and production on the show was being handled, Costner chose to forgo returning to “Yellowstone,” instead deciding to focus on his massive Western epic “Horizon: An American Saga.” Nonetheless, Sheridan moved forward with the second half of Season 5, sans Costner, taking a cue from “Succession” and choosing to put the show’s focus on John Dutton’s kids for what appears to be the final season. While speaking to The Hollywood Reporter at the show’s red carpet premiere, Luke Grimes, who plays Kayce Dutton, expressed sadness over Costner not coming back, but said it fit into the show’s larger narrative.

“It’s hard to imagine the show without him,” he said. “But that’s always where the show was headed. It was, can these kids do it without him? So we all knew it was going to get there, we just didn’t know how or when, and clearly it was different than what we thought. But what it did do was ramp the show up to a 10 and now everything starts to unravel.”

Adding to this, Wes Bentley, who plays Jamie Dutton, said of Costner, “We miss him. He’s a huge part of the show and great guy to have around.”

Grimes shared that it was a “miracle” they were able to finish the show at all considering not only Costner stepping away, but also issues around COVID and the strikes last year. For others like Cole Hauser, who plays ranch hand and fan favorite Rip Wheeler, these hiccups don’t mean the train needs to come to a stop. No official announcement for a Season 6 has been made, but knowing how audiences feel about Rip and Beth Dutton, played by Kelly Reilly, he still thinks there’s room for more stories.

“You can go on forever about these two,” Hauser said of the married couple. “There’s no walls when it comes to them, no limits. As long as Taylor wants to write something special, I know Kelly and I would be interested to do it.”

“Yellowstone” Season 5, part 2 premieres on Paramount+ November 10.