Cowboys sure do love their drama, even fictional ones. Earlier this year, it was reported by Deadline that Yellowstone patriarch Kevin Costner was thinking about hanging up his cowboy hat after four-and-a-half seasons of the family ranch drama. Season five of the show began airing last fall, and part two was expected to drop this summer, though that might not be the case after all.
It appears that the second half of season five hasn’t even begun production, possibly due to Costner’s minimal shooting schedule. Between the delay in shooting, rumors of Costner’s exit, and talk of Matthew McConaughey joining the franchise, there are a lot of questions and not too many answers coming from Taylor Sheridan & Co, who already has a lot on his plate with his various other shows.
No update for part 2 of #Yellowstone season 5. The cast has not yet started filming or been given a start date. #PaleyFest
— Emily Longeretta (@emilylongeretta) April 2, 2023
While speaking a PaleyFest over the weekend, Paramount president of development Keith Cox didn’t address the alleged drama specifically, but he feels ‘confident’ that Costner will remain the center of the Yellowstone universe. “What I can say is our star, the face of our show and the executive producer, are very confident he’s going to continue with our show,” Cox said. Costner still has yet to address the rumors, though he did secure a Golden Globe for his portrayal of John Dutton earlier this year. Maybe all he wanted was to get a tiny statue before retiring from the ranch for good in order to pursue his budding music career. One can only dream.
Even if Costner steps down, Josh Lucas, who plays young Dutton, thinks that the show could still continue without Costner, and that they “always planned” on Kevin’s character dying. He added, “That’s just… the evolution of what the ranch is. That’s why when you see the cemetery and you see the names of Elsa and you see the names of Jacob and you see these names, I think it’s of course going to evolve and change,” he explained, adding “And I think that’s what hopefully people will really like as it goes.”
Still, in order to like it, fans have to be able to actually watch it. Fans are already pretty upset at how the show handled the lackluster PaleyFest panel after so many of the stars bailed, and there is no current timeline for when we will get the second half of season five. Let’s hope McConaughey steps in with his signature smile soon to make everyone happy again.
