John Dutton's long reign will soon come to a dramatic end. Yellowstone star Kevin Costner has announced that the flagship show will complete its final season without him.

Having already aired the first half of its fifth season, the remaining episodes have yet to be released due to the notable confluence of the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.

3 May 2023 There is still no update on when the cast and crew will be returning to Montana to finish shooting the remainder of Season 5.

The Paramount Network announced that the farewell episodes would arrive in November 2024, but Costner quickly revealed (via Instagram Reels) that he would not be attending.

Costner's exit will greatly affect the rest of the Yellowstone storyline. This has clearly ended the series and dashed hopes for Season 6

The long answer is: somewhat, but not in name. The end of Costner's tenure at Yellowstone doesn't mean the end of the Yellowstone saga.

This would allow for branching into spinoffs, such as the previously announced Yellowstone franchise extension which could feature Matthew McConaughey as the star.

According to the reporter, the spin-off is currently in production and was previously announced to go ahead regardless of Costner returning to the original.