While “Yellowstone” is ending after Season 5, the TV franchise that the show spawned — which already includes multiple

spin-offs — will live on. In fact, three “Yellowstone” stars may return in an upcoming Matthew McConaughey sequel

series. However, Kevin Costner’s John Dutton will reportedly not even return for Season 5, Part 2, all but guaranteeing

some sort of dramatic end for his character. One possibility, of course, is that John dies at the hands of his son Jamie Dutton (Wes Bentley), fulfilling a murder plot introduced at the end of Season 5, Part 1. Lending credence to this theory is an interview TVLine conducted in which Bentley outlines precisely why Jamie wants to kill his father.

“After John ran for governor and became the thing he said he hated, Jamie started to have a change of perspective,” Bentley said. “… The deity is gone. I think that’s why Jamie’s choosing to try to have him killed. [He realizes that his] life would be much better without him, which is a big change for Jamie.”

Bentley had already considered the possibility that Jamie might commit patricide as far back as Season 1. That said, prior to the storyline in which John becomes governor, Bentley believed that John’s death would have crushed Jamie. Heading into Season 5, Part 2, however, that weight has been lifted, leaving Jamie free to covet a life liberated from the weight of his father’s expectations.

John’s death is practically a sure thing, but the manner of it remains a mystery

John Dutton dying in the lead-up to the “Yellowstone” finale has practically become a given, to the extent that plenty of fans are speculating how — rather than if — John will die during the show’s final stretch of episodes.

The fact that Jamie Dutton takes steps toward arranging his father’s murder in the final episode of “Yellowstone” Season 5, Part 1, significantly increases the likelihood that Jamie will have a hand in John’s end. That said, a report that Puck published between the two halves of Season 5 claims that a clause in Costner’s contract prevents his character from dying in a manner that would make the actor look bad.

Without access to what this supposed clause says outright, it’s impossible to know just how it might affect John’s character arc. Generally, though, this suggests John might go out in some sort of heroic last stand rather than simply die in ignoble death at the hands of Jamie’s assassins. For now, all fans can do is speculate until the final stretch of “Yellowstone” episodes kicks off in November.