Kevin Costner gave fans the devastating but expected update on his return to Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone Season 5. He confirmed that he would not return to film the final part of the modern-day Western drama. He announced his exit a year earlier after his reported feud with the creator, but speculation ran rife about his return. With Costner confirming his status, the series needs to address John Dutton’s absence in the most believable manner.
One popular Yellowstone theory that could explain away Costner’s exit would be the return of John Dutton’s terminal illness. The first season of the series featured a plot where John Dutton’s cancer diagnosis is revealed when he faces a health scare at the end of the season.
John Dutton’s Returning Cancer Could Explain Kevin Costner’s Exit From Yellowstone
Right from the get-go, Yellowstone shows the struggles of Kevin Costner‘s central character to maintain control over his ranch and his land from different external forces. One plotline in Season 1 added intrigue to this overall plot by revealing that John Dutton had colon cancer. When he faces a health scare towards the end of the season, Beth and Jamie get to know about his cancer.
In the Season 2 premiere, things turn dramatic when John collapses on the ranch and coughs up blood. However, it was revealed that John’s health scare was posed by a ruptured ulcer and not his returning colon cancer. The fake cancer scare was the last time the series used the story thread and abandoned it altogether.
With Costner announcing his exit last year, a few fans believed that the cancer storyline would be the perfect way to bid farewell to the character. However, other fans expected that the Dances with Wolves actor might resolve his issues with the creator and return to the series. The latest update from Costner confirmed his exit and once again ignited the cancer theory.
While Season 5 Part 1 shows no signs of health risks in the character, fans find the cancer plotline to be the most canonically apt way to explain his absence. It would make no sense if the all-powerful John Dutton gets killed or murdered off-screen.
The cancer plot still feels not quite right after the first part of the fifth season sets him up in no position to die at this point in the story. Last we see of him in the series, John Dutton was going to fight his potential impeachment from the Montana Governor position.
Kevin Costner Confirms That He Will Not Be Able To Continue In Yellowstone
Kevin Costner shared a video on Instagram where he shared about his work on his passion project, Horizon: An American Saga, and his status on Yellowstone. He revealed that he wouldn’t be a part of Season 5 or any of the future endeavors in Taylor Sheridan‘s Western project. However, he was all humble about how the series impacted him.
He revealed that the series changed him and that it will always remain beloved to him. He shared with his fans that he loved the relationship the series created between them. Costner shared on his Instagram:
Thinking about Yellowstone, that beloved series that I love, that I know you love. I just realized that I’m not going to be able to continue, season five or into the future. [The show] was something that really changed me.
I loved it and I know you loved it, and I just wanted to let you know that I won’t be returning. I love the relationship we’ve been able to develop, and I’ll see you at the movies.
Yellowstone Season 5 Part 2 will return on November 10 this year and fans will miss the Robin Hood actor in the series. Earlier, he made the comment that he would return to the series only if he liked the final arc of his character (via PEOPLE).
The series is now available for streaming on Peacock.
