'Yellowstone' Star Hints Kevin Costner Might Be Gone

"Yellowstone" actress Dawn Olivieri sounds mentally prepared for Kevin Costner to leave the hit show.

There's been plenty of speculation Costner could be on his way out the door, and it's been reported Taylor Sheridan could be ready to kill off John Dutton.

At the same time, a Paramount Network official indicated he was confident Kevin Costner would return. It's unclear if that was speculation or if something is cooking behind the scenes.

What we do know is there's plenty of dueling narratives and none of the cast even seem to know. Well, Olivieri understands the end for Costner might have already come.

Will Kevin Costner leave "Yellowstone"?

"Sometimes we have to own the fact that nothing is forever and impermanence is the single thing we can count on. And that life is like that," Olivieri told the Daily Mail during PaleyFest.

While she might be bracing for Kevin Costner to leave the iconic western, it doesn't sound like she's sweating it. The woman who plays Sarah Atwood fully expects the show to go out with a bang and plenty of drama.

"I believe Taylor to write the rollercoaster. I can trust him to do that because why else are you writing. Are you writing so that everyone feels happy and they feel good about what you've just done to them? That's not why we watch Taylor Sheridan things. We watch it because we go, 'Ooooh I can't believe that just happened. Ooooh How could he do that?' Right? So however he writes this, it's not going to be for the benefit of everyone at the home to just nicely go in their bed at night and put their head on the pillow and be like: I am happy. That's how he did it. That is never going to be the case. That's not why he is where he is writing what he's writing," she further told the outlet.

The future remains murky.

The reality of the situation is nobody seems to know what's going on. With every passing day, it appears there's more conflicting information.

Is Kevin Costner staying or going? Does he even want to remain on the show? Is John Dutton's character something Taylor Sheridan even wants to explore further at this point given all the drama?

These are all questions fans want answered. Unfortunately, there's been little to no concrete information floating around. It's unclear if the show even has a set production schedule for the rest of season five. It was reported in a profile of Wes Bentley he was returning to Montana to finish shooting.

Then, there were indications there was no filming schedule. Now, it is possible Taylor Sheridan has a core idea of Jamie's storyline and can shoot that without needing Costner.

"Yellowstone" fans now sit and continue to wait for some concrete decisions to be made. As a gambling man, I'd say it's no higher than 50% Kevin Costner continues on the show for any extended amount of time. The most likely resolution is closing out season five and that'll be the end of his run as John Dutton. For the sake of the show, I hope I'm wrong, but it certainly doesn't seem like this has a happy ending.

Written by
David Hookstead is a reporter for OutKick covering a variety of topics with a focus on football and culture. He also hosts of the podcast American Joyride that is accessible on Outkick where he interviews American heroes and outlines their unique stories. Before joining OutKick, Hookstead worked for the Daily Caller for seven years covering similar topics. Hookstead is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin.