Poll: Do You Want John Dutton to Die on ‘Yellowstone’?
Yellowstone is officially headed back to television in the fall of 2023, and according to numerous sources, it doesn't look like Kevin Costner will be a big part of it, if at all. Various reports say his character, family patriarch John Dutton, will die before the show comes to an end later in the year — but is that what fans actually want?
The Oscar-winning actor and director has been in a showdown with the producers of Yellowstone since February over his shooting scheduling for the second half of Season 5, which conflicts with another project of his called Horizon. According to multiple sources, they've long been considering killing off his character and ending the show at the conclusion of Season 5, and the back-and-forth has caused the delay of the second half of Season 5, which was initially supposed to air in the summer.
On Friday (May 2), Paramount Network formally announced that Yellowstone would return for the second half of Season 5 in November, and those episodes will bring the show to an end. The network is launching a yet-untitled sequel to Yellowstone in December, reportedly slated to star Matthew McConaughey and some of the cast members of Yellowstone.
Friday's announcement did not reference Costner, and it appears more and more likely that his character will die early on in the back half of Season 5, with the rest of the show playing out the ramifications from his death. As Taste of Country's Dutton Rules podcast team addressed, there are many different ways to play out that scenario; his cancer could return, he could be killed by an assassin, he could die in a law enforcement raid, his adopted son Jamie could kill him ... he could even accidentally die by Beth's (Kelly Reilly) hand.
Fans have had no say in any of this, of course, but if you did, would you want to see John Dutton die? Or would you rather see him live?
There's a couple of ways that could happen: First, producers and Costner could finally reach some sort of deal that allows him to wrap the role and bring the show to an end, and secondly — and bear with us, we know this is a shock — they could, quite simply, re-cast the role of John Dutton and continue with another actor to finish out the rest of the episodes. Imagine Clint Eastwood suddenly popping up as John Dutton! For that matter, Josh Lucas, who has played a younger John Dutton in flashbacks, could be aged to play the role as an older man.
Which would you rather see? Are you at peace with John Dutton dying? Or would you rather see the character continue in whatever way possible? Weigh in on your choice in the poll below, and keep visiting Taste of Country for comprehensive coverage of Yellowstone, 1923 and the entire Yellowstone universe.
Check out our Dutton Rules podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.