Yellowstone Final Episodes Will Feature a Major Crowd-Pleasing Return

Is Kevin Costner secretly returning for the final episodes of Yellowstone after all? Well, it sure seemed like director Christina Alexandra Voros teased that it was possible. During a brand-new interview, Voros implied the actor who portrayed John Dutton might actually have been on set for the conclusion of Taylor Sheridan and John Linson’s Western saga. When asked how different the Yellowstone set was without Costner on it, Voros coyly told The Hollywood Reporter:

“I don’t know if we were without him. I don’t know!”

Costner has officially denied his involvement in Yellowstone’s upcoming entries after having controversially left the production following the conclusion of Season 5’s first eight episodes. The Oscar-winner (Best Director and Best Picture for Dances with Wolves) even took to Instagram back on June 20 to confirm he wasn’t returning as John Dutton. However, Voros went on and revealed that the Dutton patriarch’s presence is “integral” to the second half of Season 5 in the same interview with THR:

“His presence is integral. I think to say any more than that would potentially compromise all the work that went into redacting the scripts! (Laughs) But I think the reason people are wondering, ‘Is he, isn’t he? Where is he, where is he not?’ is because he is the patriarch, and his presence is an essential component to the story. John Dutton is still central.”

COVID-Level Secrecy Went Into Protecting Yellowstone Season 5B

Kevin Costner’s John Dutton was heavily featured in the official trailer for Yellowstone Season 5’s final episodes, despite the fact that Costner is reportedly not reprising the role. However, whether Costner will actually return or not is being kept a secret, despite the cat Christina Voros might have inadvertently let out of the bag. And as far as spoilers go, the director said there were COVID-esque “protocols” in place to keep juicy Season 5B tidbits from leaking. Voros said in the same sit-down with THR:

“In a strange way, we likened it to COVID protocols. What you don’t have access to won’t make you informed. So, it was a tricky process because you can’t just give someone their lines — there’s information their character may have learned in other scenes. There was a certain amount of art that went into strategizing what information people had to be able to embody their characters, and know what their characters know without opening up any of the more sensitive material to people who didn’t need to know it.”

Yellowstone Fan-Favorite Shares Exciting Update on Their Character’s Spinoff

Kevin Costner might be leaving the Dutton Ranch in his rearview mirror, but another series star is down to continue their character’s story.

Voros directed four of the final six episodes of Yellowstone, so certainly she is in the know, or, as Voros put it: “in the secret club.” However, when it comes to who else is actually aware of what’s happening in Season 5B, it’s a small, select group of individuals. Voros continued, saying:

“Our department heads. Director Michael Friedman. The cast of the Duttons themselves are in the secret club. But for the most part, people knew the scenes they were in. So, if they were in scenes where something happened that needed to be protected, they knew about it. But if they weren’t, about half the cast doesn’t know what happens this season, outside of their own work.”

It will have been nearly two years since the last episode aired back in January 2023, but Yellowstone is finally about to make its triumphant return — and, hopefully, a long overdue trip to the train station. Will Kevin Costner’s John Dutton actually be a no-show? Find out when Season 5B drops Sunday, Nov. 10, at 8 p.m. EST/PST on the Paramount Network with a special encore presentation airing at 10 p.m. on CBS.