Yellowstoneβs future is looking more clear now that we know for sureΒ Kevin Costner wonβt be returning, but itβs a disappointing future knowing that the main character wonβt be back for the final episodes.
YellowstoneΒ tracks the Dutton family, a family of ranchers who have been overseeing their family ranch for generations. John Dutton (Costner) is the latest family patriarch fighting to keep the ranch running and protect the land from modern capitalistic forces. The threat came home in Season 5 Part 1, which aired in 2022 onΒ Paramount Network, when John and daughter Beth (Kelly Reilly) prepared to square off with son Jamie (Wes Bentley) after he went ahead with his efforts to remove John from the governorship, a βdeclaration of war,β as Beth called it. Now, that war will be waged without John. (OrΒ could he perish because of it?)
Paramount announced in May 2023 thatΒ YellowstoneΒ would end with Season 5. And on June 20, it announced thatΒ Part 2 will premiere on November 10, 2024, almost two years after Part 1 debuted on November 22, 2022 (the midseason finale was in January 2023). The 2023 announcement also came with details about a sequel series that would keep the mainstay show going, hopefully with some of the original cast of the flagship. Will that be billedΒ YellowstoneΒ Season 6, or will it get a new name entirely? Hereβs what we know.
Will there be aΒ YellowstoneΒ Season 6?
While the flagshipβs story is not ending, the original series is.Β YellowstoneΒ will end with Season 5 and will be followed by the sequel series thatβs already been given a series order. Itβs rumored to haveΒ Matthew McConaugheyΒ attached as the new star, and it is reportedly being calledΒ 2024. This follows the style ofΒ theΒ YellowstoneΒ prequelsΒ 1884Β andΒ 1923.
As reported byΒ VarietyΒ in November 2023,Β 2024Β could feature βnew cast members and locationsβ but have βsome crossover charactersβ from the original series.
Whatβs next for the cast ofΒ Yellowstone?
In an interview withΒ Radio TimesΒ earlier this year,Β Reilly told fansΒ not to put much weight on theΒ YellowstoneΒ rumors, downplaying talk of the spinoff while still confirming that βthere are discussionsβ about continuing the franchise.
βI just care about finishing [Yellowstone] with as much care and as much passion and as much love as I can muster to put into it,β she said. βThatβs what I care about. Iβm sort of prepping for that now [and] thatβs my tunnel vision thing that I care about most.β
βDonβt believe everything you read. Itβs just nonsense,β she added, noting of the franchiseβs future, βI donβt have an answer right now. But weβll see.β
Yellowstoneβs June 20, 2024 announcement didnβt include an official cast list for Season 5 Part 2, but Costner is the only cast member so far to confirm their exit. For now, itβs safe to assume that most of the remainingΒ YellowstoneΒ cast, likeΒ Cole Hauser, Bentley,Β Luke Grimes, andΒ Kelsey Asbille, are all currently in Montana filming the final season.
Costnerβs next project is what contributed to hisΒ YellowstoneΒ struggles in the first place. AfterΒ YellowstoneΒ production got delayed, Costnerβs work schedule for hisΒ four-part film sagaΒ HorizonΒ ended up becoming a conflict. He said in anΒ interview onΒ TodayΒ on June 17Β that he wanted to make filmingΒ YellowstoneΒ andΒ HorizonΒ in the same year work, but that became impossible.
Grimes, who plays youngest Dutton sibling Kacey, said in March that heβsΒ ready forΒ YellowstoneΒ to endΒ but left the door open for the sequel series.
βNothing will ever be the same because of this show in all sorts of ways, good and bad,β he toldΒ People. βI will miss it terribly. I know that. I mean, I think Iβm ready to know how it ends. Iβm ready to tell the end of the story.β
The actor lives in Montana with his family and plans to keep that as home base for a while. Should the sequel series film in Montana like the original, heβd be nearby.
βMy wife [Bianca Rodrigues Grimes] and I love it out there,β he said. βI think itβd be a great place to raise a family. I never know what the future holds. Who knows where the next thing will be, and how long Iβll have to be there. Iβm always open to anything, but for the foreseeable future, Iβll be there. I really have fallen in love with it.β
Where can I watchΒ Yellowstone?
Every episode ofΒ YellowstoneΒ can currently be streamed onΒ Peacock. Paramountβs streaming platform,Β Paramount+, is home toΒ 1884Β andΒ 1923Β and could possibly beΒ 2024βs home in the future.