Kevin Costner offered up a very simple two-word answer when asked about his Yellowstone character being killed off screen in the season five part two premiere.
The 69-year-old played John Dutton III in Paramount’s hit western drama, before bowing out of the final instalment of Taylor Sheridan’s program.
In shocking scenes that aired last week, his character was given a swift exit by seemingly taking his own life at the very beginning of the episode, leaving fans furious and calling out for a ‘better goodbye’.
Unpacking the scenes while on the red carpet at the Governor’s Awards yesterday, the Bodyguard actor was questioned on whether he was ‘surprised’ by the way John’s fate was handled by TV bosses.
‘No, not really. Not really, not really,’ he quickly told Variety before making his way into the venue.
Kevin has appeared in the acclaimed series since it began in 2018, alongside Luke Grimes, Cole Hauser and Kelly Reilly.
Kevin Costner’s Yellowstone character was killed off screen last week (Picture: Paramount)
The first part of the fifth and final season launched at the end of 2022 and, after a string of reports regarding scheduling conflicts, the second part finally hit our screens last week.
Between the airing of the two halves, the Hollywood legend confirmed his exit, but teased that he had ‘reasonable conditions’ in mind if he was to return.
Many hoped that those behind the scenes would work to give John a fitting goodbye, but were left furious over the way his ending was handled last week.
Although Kevin wasn’t shown, the scene showed a body lying in a bathroom at the Montana governor’s mansion next to a gun – before his on-screen son, Jamie, confirmed their loss.
The actor had two words to say about John Dutton’s exit (Picture: FilmMagic)
Despite the backlash, Yellowstone bosses emphasized their support for Taylor and his ‘brave’ decision to kill the character in such a way.
‘I think Taylor’s decision to begin this way was incredibly brave,’ executive producer Christina Voros told The Hollywood Reporter.
‘I think it is testament to his faith in the characters and the actors who embody them to go, “Let’s not make this about the incident. Let’s make this about how these human beings exist in the aftermath.”
‘That was more interesting to [Taylor] than the incident itself.’
According to Variety, the part two premiere delivered mammoth ratings for Paramount as more than 13.6million people tuned in for a glimpse at John’s fate.
Fans were left raging about the way his ending was handled (Picture: Paramount)
Kevin previously unpacked the premiere during an appearance on SiriusXM’s The Michael Smerconish Program, vowing that he wasn’t in a ‘rush to see’ how things unfold.
‘I heard it’s a suicide, so that doesn’t make me want to rush to go see it,’ he said.
‘They’re pretty smart people. Maybe it’s a red herring. Who knows? They’re very good. And they’ll figure that out.’
Kevin was correct in his thoughts as there turned out to be more to the ‘suicide’ than viewers originally thought.
Yellowstone is available to stream on Paramount +
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