Yellowstone star Kelly Reilly speaks out about Kevin Costner’s exit with big claim

Yellowstone Season 5 Part 2 will be haunted by John Dutton and Kevin Costner’s absence, but Kelly Reilly insists that nothing will have changed for her character.

Amid the 2023 Writers and Actors strikes in Hollywood, Yellowstone was undergoing some turbulent changes. Kevin Costner left the show, having led the series as John Dutton since 2018, to work on his four-part Western epic, Horizon: An American Saga.

In the wake of his exit, the Taylor Sheridan show made another shock announcement: it would be coming to an end after Season 5 Part 2, far sooner than anyone had anticipated. Naturally, this left everyone with one pressing question: how would the final episodes look without John Dutton?

According to Kelly Reilly, who plays Beth Dutton, they’ll look pretty good. In fact, for Beth, not much will change in regard to her motivations.

Paramount

“It changes nothing as far as Beth’s desire to protect her family’s lineage. In fact it becomes more urgent,” Reilly said [via Entertainment Weekly].

This mindset actually makes sense, once you consider Beth’s relationship with the ranch. Nobody hates the Dutton Ranch more than John’s only daughter, who still fights for her family’s legacy because of his own wishes. But with John missing (most likely dead), then it’s up to Beth to make sure her father’s life mission is seen through.

But still, even if nothing’s changed for Beth, there’s no doubt that Costner’s exit shook up the foundations of what Yellowstone was supposed to be. Speaking to the publication, executive producer David Glasser revealed that Sheridan always had a plan in place for how the show would end.

“Day one, episode one, Taylor said, ‘I know exactly how this ends,'” according to Glasser.

Likewise, Reilly said: “He told me the ending of the show when we were filming Season 1.”

While fans will have to wait until November 10 before they can start to work out how Yellowstone might come to a close, they can rest assured that the cast, namely Luke Grimes, thinks it’s ending perfectly.

“I read the last episode the day before we started filming,” he said. “I couldn’t be happier. I think it’s a perfect ending for the show for every character. It’s just a testament to what a good writer Taylor is, and it’s a very, very profound, beautiful ending. I can’t wait to sit down and watch it one day.”

For more, check out our guide to Yellowstone Season 6. You can also keep up to date with 6666, The Madison, and 1923 Season 2.