It’s hard to imagine the second half of “Yellowstone” season 5 being any more contentious than it is. Taylor Sheridan’s massively popular Western series ran into trouble after season 5A aired back in 2022. The

Hollywood strikes of the following year, combined with star Kevin Costner’s frustration with the shooting schedule meant that “Yellowstone” season 5B became a huge question mark. For Costner’s part, he claimed

he was unable to devote his time to the “Horizon” saga, a series of Western films that represented a passion project for the veteran star. Costner, who plays ranch owner John Dutton in “Yellowstone,” claimed he

hadn’t received any scripts for season 5B of the show, and therefore chose to depart the series rather than wait around to find out when or if he’d be allowed to shoot the movie, “Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1,” which regrettably ended up bombing at the box office.

But Costner’s take was just one side of the story. On the other side, Paramount and Sheridan claimed their star’s commitment to the “Horizon” movies actually made it difficult to plan the second half of “Yellowstone” season 5 and directly contributed to the delays. This protracted shoot-out between the two sides made it clear there was no love lost between them, and it seemed that amid such tumult, Costner’s exit was final — especially after Paramount confirmed that season 5B of “Yellowstone” would constitute the final episodes of the series.

Since then, longtime stars Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser have reportedly been in talks to lead a sixth season of “Yellowstone.” While nothing has yet been confirmed, it seems the show could have a life beyond 5B, and perhaps beyond Costner. Meanwhile, fans of the series are waiting to see how Sheridan wraps up season 5B of his neo-Western without the star of the show onboard. The episodes have been shot and are set to start airing on November 10, 2024, with many expecting John Dutton to perish before the season ends. But it seems Sheridan did have the option to keep the ranch owner breathing, as Costner apparently isn’t entirely against returning to the series he helped establish as the mega-hit it is.

Kevin Costner has conditions for his Yellowstone return

However “Yellowstone” season 5B wraps up, it will be a finale of sorts for the series. Even if it continues with a sixth season, this will be a very different show. Kevin Costner’s exit reportedly won’t change the ending of “Yellowstone,” though, as Taylor Sheridan is said to have known the show was going to run five seasons, and even knew how it would end before the pilot aired. Most fans are expecting the Dutton patriarch to kick the bucket in some way, and with Costner leaving the show behind, that seems like a safe bet — though Sheridan will have to ensure he gives the character a dignified send-off considering Costner had a unique “moral death” stipulation written into his “Yellowstone” contract.

With part two of season 5 set to air soon, whatever is going to happen has already been solidified. But if John Dutton is killed off in the final episodes, it would mean Sheridan and Paramount missed an opportunity to bring Costner back into the fold in future. Despite the heated back-and-forth between the show’s star, the network, and Sheridan, it seems Costner is actually open to a return, telling Entertainment Tonight that he’d “like to be able to do it, but we haven’t been able to.” The actor added, “I thought I was going to make seven [seasons] but right now we’re at five. So how it works out — I hope it does — but they’ve got a lot of different shows going on. Maybe it will. Maybe this will circle back to me. If it does and I feel really comfortable with [it], I’d love to do it.”

So, in order for Costner to return as John Dutton, it seems the network and Sheridan have to come to him, complete with a story with which he feels “comfortable.” Considering the ongoing behind-the-scenes tension, that seems like an unlikely scenario. Meanwhile, when asked about his character’s fate, Costner said, “He needs to be proactive in what happens” and revealed that he has his “own fantasy how it might be,” adding, “but that’s Taylor’s thing. I said as much to him a while back. I had thoughts how it could happen, but we just have to see.”