John Dutton is dead — and fans are not happy about it. The fate of Kevin Costner’s character was finally revealed in Sunday’s premiere of the second half of the fifth and final season of Yellowstone. The episode began with Beth Dutton discovering her father’s house as a “crime scene,” where she learned that he was “gone.”
John Dutton’s death was ruled a suicide, later revealed to be a murder
Beth and her brother Kayce Dutton entered the house and discovered that John Dutton, portrayed by Costner, had died from a gunshot wound. Although a double was used for Costner’s body, with his face not shown in the scene, the premiere later revealed that John’s death was not a suicide, as initially reported, but a murder orchestrated by Jamie Dutton, played by Wes Bentley. A hitman was hired to kill John, shifting the storyline dramatically.
Executive producer discusses the secrecy behind Costner’s exit
Executive producer Christina Voros shared how “weird” it was to keep Costner’s character’s death under wraps. She explained, “We didn’t talk about it as a death. Any time there is a death or some sort of event, we call it an ‘arrival.’” To keep the plot secret, the production team referred to John Dutton’s character with the pseudonym, “Crosby.” Voros praised the approach, calling it a bold move by writer Taylor Sheridan to focus not on the incident itself but on how the characters deal with the aftermath.
Fans react negatively to John Dutton’s exit
Despite the behind-the-scenes effort to maintain secrecy, fans were not pleased with the decision to kill off John Dutton. Many criticized the move as “so lame,” even though they had anticipated it following Costner’s exit from the show.
Costner’s exit confirmed in May, took drama out of the equation
Kevin Costner confirmed his departure from Yellowstone in May 2023, clarifying to fans that the decision wasn’t driven by drama. “I don’t need drama,” he told Hollywood Reporter, adding that he wanted to eliminate any speculation about his exit and move forward.
Yellowstone airs on Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on Paramount Network.
