Even Kevin Costner Couldn’t Figure Out Why He Was In The Latest Yellowstone Trailer: “Been Seeing Ads With My Face All Over The Place”

Yellowstone fans should have been well aware that the show's lead character, Kevin Costner, wasn't going to be in the final season... but Paramount threw a whole bunch of confusion into the mix when Costner was featured in the Season 5 Part 2 trailer. And according to Kevin, it was puzzling for him too... Before we get into details, I want to provide a SPOILER ALERT warning before we get too far into this one. Though if you are a Yellowstone fan, you've likely either already watched the latest episode, or you've seen the outrage directed at Taylor Sheridan from fans that tuned into the western drama to find out how John Dutton's exit would be handled. Spoilers below. Yellowstone didn't take long to reveal John Dutton's fate. After taking almost two years in between parts one and two of season five, they barely took even two seconds to shock fans of the show with the death of John Dutton. The first episode of the back half of the final season started with John Dutton being found dead from a gunshot wound. It was set up to look like a suicide, but it was later revealed that he was murdered through a plot laid out by lawyer Sarah Atwood - who just so happens to be sleeping with Jamie Dutton. Obviously, the expedited, thudding finality of Costner's character upset a lot of fans... but what was the show supposed to do? Just not mention the main character of the show for a couple of episodes, then kill him off? Anyone who has watched the show knows that even if Costner was able to return for the final episodes, John Dutton wasn't going to make it out alive. Funny enough, it appears that Kevin Costner was even caught off guard by John Dutton's death - mainly because he didn't know Yellowstone was airing its final episodes. In an interview on The Michael Smerconish Program, Costner was asked if he "was cool" with how his character's arc ended on the show. Here's what he had to say: "Well, I’m going to be perfectly honest. I didn’t know it was actually airing last night. That’s a swear-to-God moment. I swear to God. I mean, I’ve been seeing ads with my face all over the place and I’m thinking, ‘Gee, I’m not in that one. I’m not in this season.' But I didn’t realize yesterday was the thing. Somebody said, ‘It played last night?’ And I said, ‘Hmm, okay.’ So no, I found out about it this morning actually." Costner didn't watch the episode, as he was actually pre-occupied with a private screening of Horizon: Chapter 2. He made it clear that he didn't tune in, but he had heard how John Dutton came to an end, and weirdly assured fans that the Yellowstone writers will figure out how to justify the decision: "I heard what it was, but no, they’re smart people. Whatever they’re doing, they’ll figure it out. But yeah, I had come up with two possible endings back when it wasn’t going to go as long as it did go." Neither of which were what happened to Dutton in the show, to be clear. Smerconish eventually just straight up asked if Costner was displeased with how Yellowstone killed off his character, and John Dutton himself was admittedly a little disappointed with how his story ended after five seasons of being virtually invincible: "I didn’t see it. I heard it’s a suicide. That doesn’t make me wanna rush to go see it... They’re pretty smart people. Maybe it’s a red herring. Who knows? They’re very good. They’ll figure that out." Yeah, the decision didn't make a lot of fans who tuned in want to keep watching either. Costner probably hasn't been filled in about what actually turned out to be a murder-plot, but what does he care really? He did his time on the show, and has voiced how much he loved being on it. But unfortunately, Costner wasn't able to get on the same page with the Yellowstone production - or vice versa - and the writer's were somewhat backed into a corner. And Costner made sure to point out once again that he did everything in his power to return to Yellowstone: "I didn’t quit the show. OK? I had made a contract to do all three. There was a contract in place to do all three. And within about an eight-month period, two more different kind of contracts were being negotiated. Not at my request, but at their request to try to do things. I accommodated them on those extra two things that changed - things change - and finally when they wanted to change it a third time, because I had my obligations to do, I had 300 people waiting for me, I couldn’t help them anymore. I just simply couldn’t help them. But I didn’t quit the show. There was no … you know, everybody has to live up to what they say they’re going to do. And it doesn’t matter what business you’re in." All in all, the western drama is really going to have to bring it during its final episodes to vindicate their decision to kill off John Dutton right off the bat. And you can hear more of what Costner had to say about the whole ordeal in the interview below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpZo445fBHo For a sneak peek of what to expect in Season 5 Part 2, look no further: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pifXtqxDPkE Also, check out our Yellowstone The Soundtrack playlist... every song, from every episode, updated every Sunday night. Spotify Apple Music Shop the Yellowstone Collection from Whiskey Riff Shop https://www.instagram.com/p/Ch-VP2xpLc7/