Kevin Costner Had One Major Fear Before Yellowstone Started Production

Taylor Sheridan's "Yellowstone" was a sensation when it was on the air, annihilating virtually every other cable network show in the ratings. No doubt a big part of that (at least initially) was the casting of Kevin Costner as John Dutton, the patriarch of the family the show follows. Getting a huge name like Costner set the series up for success, but that also came with a lot of pressure for the actor. In June 2019, not long after the show's second season premiered, the A-lister spoke with "Good Morning America" and admitted feeling a lot of trepidation.

Costner mentioned that when he was first approached about the part, "Yellowstone" was meant to be a 10-episode miniseries. As development went along, it became clear that the series could continue for a while — and that scared him. "Suddenly, it was going to be a multi-season," Costner explained. "And I thought, actually, if I would have said, 'Well, now I'm not doing it,' that maybe it might have crumbled before it got started. And I kind of took the weight on emotionally of not wanting to have the show crumble."

Those feelings were seemingly confirmed by co-star Denim Richards, who played Colby Mayfield. When speaking with the New York Post, he recalled what Costner told the whole cast during the first table read. According to Richards, Costner told his new colleagues: "I don't know about you guys, but I'm scared as hell. So why don't we come together the best we can, and make this happen, and support each other." That support lasted right up until the final season, when Costner did what he refused to do back then — he walked away.

Appearing on a TV show for five seasons is a big commitment. "Yellowstone" had the misfortune of dividing its fifth and final season into two parts, and while Kevin Costner reprised the role of John Dutton for the first portion of eight episodes, he decided to bow out for the final six. The reason Costner quit "Yellowstone" is that he wanted to make his own Western project and he couldn't do both at the same time. 

The filming schedule for "Yellowstone" Season 5, Part 2 reportedly conflicted with Costner's film "Horizon: An American Saga." This was meant to be a massive cinematic epic divided into multiple parts, with the first two movies coming out in 2024 just six weeks apart. However, due to "Part 1" being a box office disappointment, "Part 2" was indefinitely delayed. Meanwhile, "Yellowstone" carried on without John Dutton. Season 5, Part 2 opens with John's death, and the rest of the season involves his family attempting to find out the truth about what happened and picking up the pieces.

Even under the circumstances, killing off the show's central character was a risky move. Many fans hated John's death on "Yellowstone," believing that Taylor Sheridan had plenty of time to figure out something better knowing that Costner wouldn't be returning. Even though "Yellowstone" is over, the show's universe lives on. There's already been multiple "Yellowstone" spinoffs, and another one is on the horizon: "The Madison" starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Kurt Russell, which is set in the modern day.