Kevin Costner to Haunt Yellowstone Sequels Despite John Dutton's Finale

After the longest time of silence and confusion that tormented its audience, Yellowstone came to a closure quite in accordance with many fans’ theories.

As former lead star Kevin Costner stepped back from the series, his character John Dutton was predictably killed off in the finale, leaving the younger members of the Dutton family to sort out the mess.

Without their father to guide them, Beth and Kayce went through with honoring his wish and protecting their land from the developers. Ultimately, they gave it back to the Broken Rock Tribe: while the better option, it was still very much not how John Dutton envisioned the outcome of the battle for the Yellowstone Ranch.

In some way, this decision felt like the final nail in the patriarch’s coffin, which rather fits the whole “Kevin Costner’s never going back to Yellowstone” theme that’s been going on lately. But in some ways, Yellowstone will never not be haunted by its former lead star’s legacy, and it’s especially noticeable when you think of the upcoming sequel series.

Beth and Rip are getting their own “spin-off,” as Sheridan prefers to call it, but to many fans, it feels more like Yellowstone Season 6 except there’s likely to be little of the Ranch itself in the new show. Both Beth and Rip were prominent characters in the main series, but they’re also pretty much the ones who carry the most of John Dutton’s spirit in them.

Beth is 100% her Dad’s girl, no doubt about that; Rip, while not related to the Duttons by blood, became the son John had always wanted, unlike his own offsprings that…didn’t turn out so great, in his eyes. With these two leading the upcoming sequel, there’s no doubt in our mind that the new series will be essentially dripping with John Dutton’s blood and spirit.

Even after having left Yellowstone, Kevin Costner will still have a strong presence in the stories to come; and even after (admittedly) having barred the former lead star from re-entering the show, Taylor Sheridan is unlikely to ever get rid of Costner’s legacy.

There’s just way too much of the actor in Yellowstone, and no matter where the plot goes from here, Beth and Rip won’t ever forget him or abandon his ways. So in some ways, John stays.