Kevin Costner open to Yellowstone return despite frustrating filming experience

Yellowstone star Kevin Costner has finally revealed exactly why he left the popular western series, but also hinted that he’s not ruling out a return.

Costner appeared on The Today Show to promote his western epic Horizon: An American Saga. Naturally, though, Yellowstone came up. The actor frankly discussed why he left the show, saying it simply came down to wanting to be able to work more than the show allowed him to.

(Conversation begins at 5:54)

“I did it for five years, and I wanted to work more than once a year,” Costner explained. “We lost an entire year at one point, and I thought, that can’t happen again. It was well over a year.

“I thought I have to be in a position to make the things. Material has to be ready at certain times, and we weren’t able to do that. After five years, I thought, I’m not going to do this. If we can get that, we can do that, and I’ll do it.”

Yellowstone has had a fairly consistent release schedule but did suffer some notable delays. The gap between Season 3’s finale and Season 4’s premiere, for instance, was well over a year. Meanwhile, filming for Yellowstone Season 5 Part 2 was delayed for almost a year due to the writer’s strike.

This does seem to back up some previous claims, too. The previous belief was that scheduling issues had led to a feud between Costner and Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan, though that has never been confirmed.

Still, Costner isn’t entirely giving up on the idea of a return to Yellowstone. He revealed he would be willing to return but didn’t really elaborate on what it would take.

“I’ve supported that thing, and I’ve loved it; it’s been really important to me,” Costner said. “I would love to go back under the right circumstances. I think that’s what all of us want. At this point, for me, it really needs to be the right circumstances.”

Yellowstone Season 5 Part 2 does not currently have a release date, but it’s far from the end of the franchise. A sequel series, 2024, is already planned to continue the saga following Costner’s departure.

While you wait for more Yellowstone, you can check out our review of Horizon: An American Saga or read our Yellowstone guides covering the Y brand, Train Station, and a ranking of all the Yellowstone villains.