Yellowstone is scheduled to air its long-awaited season 5B on Monday night, picking up where the fast-paced finale of the first part left off.
Neo-western fans can catch the Australian premiere at 6:30pm AEDT on areand many eager viewers probably tune in with a burning question in mind.
How will Dutton patriarch John leave the show following actor Kevin Costner’s shocking exit from the series?
The finale of the first half of season five ended with horrifying scenes as Beth Dutton and her brother Jamie declared war on each other and promised that their feud would end with the death of one of them.
But now that John is expected to leave the show, will it really be one of his children who is at risk of being killed off next season?
A Showbiz 411 report from earlier this year suggests not.
The publication claimed that Costner’s John will “meet a similar fate” to Brian Cox’s Logan Roy on HBO’s Succession, who was shockingly killed off in the third episode of the show’s final season.
Despite the speculation, showrunners Taylor Sheridan and John Linson have gone to great lengths to avoid leaks that could spoil the events of season 5B, let alone the circumstances in which they handle Costner’s departure.
And while fans have been busy speculating how lead star Costner, 69, will bow out as one of the main characters, it turns out that some of the show’s actors are equally intrigued by how the story will end.
Yellowstone is set to air its highly anticipated season 5B on Monday night, picking up where the fast-paced finale of the first part left off. Pictured: Kevin Costner as John Dutton.
Speaking exclusively to DailyMail.com at the Yellowstone premiere at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York on Thursday night, John Emmet Tracy, who plays Ellis Steele in the series, revealed that he and many other cast members have left “in the dark.” upon the conclusion of the program.
With the last half of the popular western releasing tonight, he shared: “I don’t know how the season ends. A lot of people were left in the dark.
‘In fact, even in some of the episodes we’re in, you don’t see the scenes before yours or the scenes after yours.
“So we’ll get a chance to watch an episode tonight and everyone’s excited here.”
Fans of the neo-western can catch the Australian premiere at 6:30pm AEDT on Stan, and many eager viewers will likely tune in with one burning question in mind. Pictured: Kelly Reilly as Beth Dutton.
Tracy, 55, added: “I was actually talking to some of the other actors and they were all saying, ‘Did anyone tell you?’ So it’ll be fun to get together there and watch the episode.”
Costner surprised fans around the world in June when he announced that he would not be returning for the second half of season five to focus on his own western film, Horizon.
In the short clip shared on his social media pages, he said: “I just want to reach out and let you know that after this long year and a half working on Horizon and doing everything necessary, and thinking about Yellowstone… That beloved series which I love, which I know you love, I just realized that I won’t be able to continue with season 5B or in the future.
He continued: ‘It was something that really changed me. I loved it and I know you loved it.
“I just wanted to let you know that I won’t be coming back.”
How will Dutton patriarch John leave the show following actor Kevin Costner’s shocking exit from the series?
Costner, who has led the cast as patriarch John Dutton since 2018, left the series after five years starring on the show.
The actor’s future on Yellowstone had been under intense scrutiny since earlier this year amid an alleged breakup with Sheridan, the show’s co-creator.
At the time of his departure, the second half of the fifth season had not yet ended, and the uncertainty of how the series would progress without Costner caused much confusion and frustration.
In April, DailyMail.com reported new details about Costner’s breakup with Yellowstone creator Sheridan.
Sources claimed that Sheridan developed a “God complex” that reportedly left Costner frustrated with the development of the hit series.
The outlet also claimed that morale had been declining among the cast as they were not updated on Costner’s negotiations with producers.
Costner surprised fans around the world in June when he announced that he would not be returning for the second half of season five to focus on his own western film, Horizon.
“Kevin will always be proud and grateful for Yellowstone and the cast is like family to him,” the source said of Costner, who recently won a Golden Globe for best actor for his portrayal of John Dutton.
“He simply felt that Yellowstone was heading in a direction that was not in line with his initial vision and received criticism, including that he should just act.”
Earlier this year, the New York Post reported that Costner’s desire to reduce his workload on season five to focus on other projects was also to blame for the tension between him and Sheridan.
“It’s the same as with any showrunner and big star: there is respect, but there is friction,” a source described as “well placed” within the production told the outlet.
Costner currently directs and stars in Horizon, a Western film series consisting of four independent films.
Each film is about three hours long, and after the quadruple release, Horizon will be split into a television series, each with 42-minute episodes.
Costner’s future on the show has been under intense scrutiny amid an alleged split with Taylor Sheridan (pictured), the show’s co-creator.
Another “high” Hollywood source told the outlet that part of the blame for the “friction” on the set lies with its creator.
‘Taylor is the star of her show. “He is the most important person in all his programs,” they said.
Deadline reported in February that Costner wanted to shoot the second half of season five for just one week, after cutting his work short on the first half.
The apparent reason was that the actor wanted to focus on his upcoming Western film franchise, Horizon.
But Costner’s attorney, Marty Singer, responded after the report, telling Puck News that it was an “absolute lie” that his client would only shoot for a week.
“As everyone who knows anything about Kevin knows, he is incredibly passionate about the show and has always gone above and beyond to ensure its success,” she said at the time.
Speculation has been mounting as fans wonder how John will be killed off following Costner’s departure and how his family will continue to run the ranch without him.
Other inside sources have claimed that Sheridan’s lack of preparation has caused significant delays in the show’s production; one of them suggested that Costner had made himself available to shoot, only for the creator’s own “overloaded” schedule to get in the way.
They added that Sheridan was “overloaded” and “nothing was ready” even after Costner “made himself available.”
They said Costner was set to shoot the second half of the season sometime last year, as well as in January of this year, but there were supposedly no completed scripts to shoot at that time.
‘Kevin has been extremely cooperative working with Taylor and her production company, 101 Studios. “They were supposed to shoot the second episode of season five at the end of last year, but they just didn’t have the scripts,” a source told the Post.
‘Kevin had already committed to doing his other films. He had given the producers his schedule. There was nothing to shoot.
Created by Taylor Sheridan and John Linson, Yellowstone follows the Dutton family, owners of the largest ranch in Montana, commonly known as The Yellowstone.
The plot revolves around family drama on the ranch, as well as conflicts along the ranch’s shared border with the Broken Rock Indian Reservation, Yellowstone National Park, and real estate developers.
The series premiered in Australia on Stan in 2018 and has been a huge hit for the streaming service since its inception.