John Dutton has ridden off into the sunset.
In a surprise post Thursday evening — the same day Paramount Network announced Yellowstone would be returning on November 10 — Kevin Costner said he will not return to the hit drama.
The Oscar winner explained he remains focused on his Western opus Horizon: An American Saga.
“I just want to reach out and let you know that after this long year and a half of working on Horizon and doing all the things that that’s required, and thinking about Yellowstone, that beloved series that I love, that I know you love, I just realized that I’m not going to be able to continue, season 5B or into the future,” he said in a video post.
5B refers to the second half of the fifth and final season of Taylor Sheridan‘s hit show, production of which was delayed by the writers and actors’ strikes.
In the video post, Costner continued of Yellowstone, “It was something that really changed me, I love the relationship we’ve been able to develop,” adding, “I’ll see you at the movies.”
Costner also weathered rumors — which he denied to People — that his Horizon shooting schedule also interfered with production on the series. In the People interview, Costner said he had been willing to return to the series, and said he was “disappointed” nobody defended him from the rumors he didn’t make himself available to finish off the show.
He claimed, “When it was first pitched to me by Taylor, it was one season and [like] a long movie, which [is] speaking my language.”
Costner claims he “stepped up,” saying, “I’ll do it for three seasons, and I ended up doing it for five.”
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