When Yellowstone returns, it will purportedly be for the series’ final episodes (at least for the main show, with several spinoffs still going or planned). Those episodes may be devoid of the Dutton family patriarch, Kevin Costner‘s John Dutton, as reports have been flying about his potential refusal to come back to film the final episodes.
Whether John is written off in Yellowstone Season 5 Part 2 or not, though, the Dutton family remains committed to keeping their ranching legacy alive.
The battle for the future of the ranch will be a civil war this time around, as the Season 5 Part 1 finale pitted John and Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) against Jamie Dutton (Wes Bentley). It’s hard to imagine reconciliation between TV’s most toxic sibling rivalry; bloodshed is far more likely for this Taylor Sheridan series.
Given the extended hiatus in the midseason, Yellowstone fans may be wondering what to expect from Part 2, and we’re here to help. Here’s everything there is to know about Yellowstone‘s final episodes so far.
Will Kevin Costner be in Yellowstone Season 5 Part 2?
Paramount Network
For a while, rumors said Costner was done with Yellowstone. His commitment to his four-film Western saga, Horizon, which he directs, co-writes, and stars in, trumped his commitment to finishing Yellowstone. The actor didn’t just want to ghost the Paramount Network series that won him a Golden Globe, but he reportedly requested a shortened filming schedule for Season 5 Part 2.
This scheduling issue is said to have caused a dispute with Sheridan, who reportedly preferred not having Costner involved in the final episodes over having him on set for less time than the series needs. In Costner’s divorce hearing in September 2023, the actor said Season 5 was not meant to be filmed and released in two parts at first. When that change was made, it conflicted with Costner’s previously set schedule for Horizon.
“They wanted to do 5A and 5B; [it] affected Horizon,” Costner said, per Deadline. “I was going to do my movie Horizon and leave that show, do my movie, then do B. [But] a show I was only doing once a year, I was now doing twice.”
According to industry newsletter Puck, Costner wants to at least make a cameo in the final episodes, if not more, now that Sheridan’s scripts for Season 5 Part 2 are complete.
Will Yellowstone kill off John Dutton? And how?
Costner is said to have a clause in his contract that requires a meaningful death for John, should the character be killed off. Given how deadly this show is (the eldest Dutton child, Lee Dutton, died in Season 1, and there have been explosive attempts to kill the remaining family members throughout the series), fans have long believed it possible that a major death in the family could occur. Fan theories about how John could die in the series have been floating around for years as a result.
One theory in particular seems incredibly likely: John was diagnosed with colon cancer in Season 1, which ramped up the pressure for him to decide who of his children would run the ranch after he was gone. Surgery helped treat the cancer, but fears that it came back emerged in Season 2 when John started coughing up blood. It turned out to be a burst ulcer that was treated on the ranch by the veterinarian in a rather gruesome scene. If John is to be killed off off-camera, his cancer returning is an easily explained death that satisfyingly ties back to the very first season.
Has Yellowstone Season 5 Part 2 started filming?
Peacock
Filming on Yellowstone Season 5 Part 2 is reportedly set to begin in Spring 2024. Reilly implied in a March 2024 interview that she hasn’t returned to set just yet.
“I just care about finishing [Yellowstone] with as much care and as much passion and as much love as I can muster to put into it,” she told Radio Times. “That’s what I care about. I’m sort of prepping for that now [and] that’s my tunnel vision thing that I care about most.”
Reilly confirmed that “there are discussions” about the show’s future following Season 5 Part 2 but didn’t comment on the report that the series will be revamped with Matthew McConaughey as the star. The supposed feud between Costner and Sheridan may be overblown as well.
“Don’t believe everything you read. It’s just nonsense,” Reilly said, not specifying what rumors she was referencing. “I don’t have an answer right now,” she added. “But we’ll see.”
Luke Grimes, who plays Kayce Dutton, said he’s ready to see how the story ends.
“Nothing will ever be the same because of this show in all sorts of ways, good and bad,” he told People. “I will miss it terribly. I know that. I mean, I think I’m ready to know how it ends. I’m ready to tell the end of the story.”
Yellowstone Season 5 Part 2 Premiere Date
Yellowstone Season 5 Part 2 is set to premiere in November 2024. An exact date will be announced at a later time.
Yellowstone Season 5 Part 2 Cast
Reilly, Bentley, Grimes, Cole Hauser, Kelsey Asbille, and Gil Birmingham are all presumably returning for the final installment. And it’s safe to assume the ranch’s employees who live in the bunkhouse will also be back for one last ride. That cast includes Ian Bohen, Forrie J. Smith, Denim Richards, Ryan Bingham, and Jen Landon. Piper Perabo, who guest starred in Season 4 and Season 5 Part 1, could also return. We’ll also likely see Kayce and Monica’s son, Tate (Brecken Merrill), come back, along with Beth and Rip’s adopted son, Carter (Finn Little).
Josh Lucas, who plays the younger John Dutton in Yellowstone flashbacks, told SiriusXM’s Jessica Shaw that he believes he’ll be back for more episodes. He also told ET that Sheridan said the final season would be 10 episodes long. Season 5 Part 1 had eight total episodes.
“I texted Kelli Boyle, TV Insider Taylor Sheridan a couple months ago, and his response was, ‘Absolutely, we’re going to finish this with 10 episodes or so,’” Lucas said. “I know as much as you do, but I think we got 10 episodes to kind of wrap it up and I can’t wait to go do it.”
There’s also a third Yellowstone spinoff about the Texan Four Sixes ranch in the works, titled 6666. It’s the ranch where Jimmy (Jefferson White) was sent to become a better cowboy. It’s not clear if Jimmy will be the central character of the spinoff, but if it’s set in the present day, he very well could.
It’s also unknown whether upcoming Yellowstone: 2024 star Matthew McConaughey will make an appearance in the tentpole series; it was originally expected to premiere after the final stretch of Yellowstone episodes before both were delayed by the dual Hollywood strikes.
Yellowstone, Season 5 Part 2, Premieres November 2024, Paramount Network