Yellowstone: Kevin Costner’s Contract May Dictate John Dutton’s Fate

In May, it was reported that Yellowstone star Kevin Costner will not return to the hit Paramount Network series after Season 5 and that the series is officially ending with Season 5 as well. The news left fans of the series wondering how the journey of Costner’s character, family patriarch John Dutton, will end and now it sounds like Costner may have had some control over his character’s end. According to a new report from Puck (via People), Costner’s contract for Yellowstone contains a “moral death” clause dictating how John Dutton can — and cannot — be killed off.

Per the report, Costner’s contract contained the clause that offers general parameters for how the character can be killed on the show. Specifically, the clause could dictate particular methods by which the character could be dispatched and place prohibitions on others, particularly those that embarrassing or unflattering. The report also indicated that Costner had a list of demands in an attempt to negotiate a return to Yellowstone, which included increased money, reduced shooting schedule, and the right to review and veto or approve every script. Per the report, discussions broke down soon after.

Yellowstone Creator Taylor Sheridan Has Previously Addressed John Dutton’s Ending

Earlier this year, Sheridan told The Hollywood Reporter that while he was disappointed with how things worked out with Costner, the closure of the John Dutton character remains generally unchanged — it just truncates things and there’s not a behind-the-scenes tension fueled “f-ck you car crash” sort of ending planned either.

“I’m disappointed,” Sheridan said. “It truncates the closure of his character. It doesn’t alter it, but it truncates it.”

He continued, “I don’t do f-ck you car crashes. Whether [Dutton’s] fate inflates [Costner’s] ego or insults is collateral damage that I don’t factor in with regard to storytelling.”

Costner Previously Revealed There Were Negotiations for Seasons 6 and 7

During recent court testimony in his ongoing divorce case, Costner explained that there were negotiations for further seasons of Yellowstone and that he had been offered $24 million to do Seasons 5, 6 and 7. However, Costner went on to explain that there were “issues about creative” and that his talks with series creator Taylor Sheridan and the series’ producers were him trying to “break the logjam” but they — not he — walked away. Costner indicated that he will “probably go to court” over his departure from the series.

Costner Has Previously Confirmed That He is No Longer Under Contract for Yellowstone

In July, Costner confirmed in court documents that he is no longer under contract for Yellowstone and, as such, was not expecting income from his work on the series, other than “back-end contractual participation rights.”

“I will earn substantially less in 2023 than I did in 2022. This is because I am no longer under contract for Yellowstone, the principal source of my income last year,” the document read. “Now, any compensation I earn from Yellowstone will derive only from my back-end contractual participation rights, which amounts are not fixed.”

“The most recent report from the producer for Yellowstone shows I am not now owed any participation money,” the statement continued.”

What do you think about this latest Yellowstone update? Let us know your thoughts in our comment section!