Kevin Costner not on Yellowstone And, but he Still have some thoughts The show is about the direction his character John Dutton took after his departure.

Oscar winner His exit is confirmed There has been speculation for months whether she will appear in the June 2024 season 5 finale of the Paramount Network drama.

“After working for this long year and a half the horizon And doing and thinking all the necessary things YellowstoneThat beloved series that I love and I know you love,” Costner began in a video shared via social media at the time. “I just realized that I can't continue into Season 5B or into the future. It was something that really changed me. I've liked it. And I know you liked it. I just wanted to let you know that I won't be back. I love the relationship we've been able to build and I'll see you in the movies."

Rumors of Costner's departure began in early 2023 after Season 5A ended. Reports circulated that there were differences with Costner Yellowstone co-creator Taylor Sheridan during production, which overlapped with Costner's four-part filming the horizon film story The two denied bad blood, however, Sheridan later said He was "disappointed". That Costner was not interested in continuing the show.

Although Sheridan stated in June 2023 that he doesn't "f— you car crashes" in his writing, he did kill 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 a hit man hired by Sarah Atwood (Don Olivieri) the traumatized man staged a suicidal scene, but Beth (Kelly Reilly) and Kayes (Luke Grimes) was immediately suspicious that all was not 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 what he had to say about John's death:

Not that interested

The day after the Season 5B premiere aired, Costner said he didn't know the first episode had ever premiered without him. “I'm going to be perfectly honest. I didn't know it actually aired last night,” he said in an interview with SiriusXM on November 11, 2024. Michael Smarkonish Program. “This is the moment of swearing to God. I'm seeing ads with my face everywhere and I'm thinking, 'Gee, I don't belong there.' But I didn't realize that was the case yesterday."

He noted that he had not seen the episode but heard what happened, "I heard it was a suicide, so I don't want to rush to see it."

Kudos to the writers

In the same interview, Costner praised Yellowstone Team for always cooking up a good story — and hinted that he knows John's "suicide" might not be the same. "They're pretty smart people," he said. “Maybe it's a red herring. Who knows? They are very good. And they'll figure it out."

Thanks 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 And! the news On November 17, 2024.

The actor went on to say that he told Sheridan about John's death "some time ago" but that he had no part in what was happening now. "They do what they want to do," he said. "That's fine with me."

no worries

During November 17, 2024, interview with Entertainment tonightCostner confirmed that he still hasn't seen the episode where John dies. "I haven't seen it, so I really have no idea about it," he quipped.

Letting it go

His lack of feelings for Costner doubled down Yellowstone ending

"I'm not thinking about (the end of Yellowstone), I don't think I've thought about it," he said in a video obtained. Daily Mail December 18. "We'll let it go."