Kevin Costner Clarifies the Reason for His ‘Yellowstone’ Exit

Kevin Costner revealed to The Hollywood Reporter the precise reason he finally decided to leave Yellowstone ahead of its final season. Costner’s departure capped a nearly year-long saga which saw the star and Yellowstone ’s creators throwing accusations back and forth about who was to blame for delays shooting the final season.

“It wasn’t tough,” Costner said of the decision, which he announced in a video posted to social media on June 20. “It was a necessary decision to say, ‘Hey, OK, I don’t want to really talk about this anymore. It’s time to move on.'”

Costner continued his reasoning: “I gave this thing five seasons. I was really happy to do it. And I don’t need drama. So, let’s just take that drama away, let’s take the guessing [away]. The fans have been way too good to me. And my obligation is to go on and continue to make things that mean something to them.”

Costner had previously expressed an openness to returning to Yellowstone . Just a few days before he officially announced his resignation, Costner told CBS Sunday Mornings that he would return to play John Dutton “if I like the story, where it was going.”

In his June 20 announcement, Costner said he “just realized I’m not going to be able to continue” with Yellowstone due to his commitments to his four-part film series Horizon: An American Saga . The first installment premieres in cinemas on June 28, while part two releases on August 16. Costner is currently shooting part three, but needs additional financing to complete the last two parts.

“I owe the fans the best movie I can make,” Costner told THR . “If I give up movies and don’t want to make anymore, that’s my business. But if I choose to make movies, I have the fans right on my shoulder. And not to cater to them, but to kind of take them in a direction maybe they didn’t even think something could possibly go so. I make [movies] for people. It’s not my movie anymore, it’s the fans’ that have supported me. It’s for them.”

Asked if Yellowstone fans will appreciate Horizon the same way they do Paramount+’s soap, Costner replied: “Well, I’m not saying they are [going to like it], but I’m saying I think if I like it, I think they will like it.”

You can check out a trailer for Horizon: An American Saga below. It’s in theaters on Friday.