Kevin Costner announced via Instagram on Thursday night that he will not return for the next season of “Yellowstone.”
“Hi, everyone. I just wanted to reach out to you and let you know that after this long year and a half of work Horizonand doing all the things that are necessary, and thinking Yellowstone“This is a very beloved series that I love and I know you love too. I just realized I won't be able to continue with it for Season 5 or in the future,” Costner wrote in his post.
“It was something that really changed me. I loved it and I know you loved it too. And I wanted to let you know that I won't be back. I love the relationship that we've been able to develop, and I'll see you at the movies.”
Kevin Costner is 'disappointed' with the way 'Yellowstone' handled exit rumors as show sets new premiere date
Kevin Costner will appear in the “Yellowstone One-Fifty” docuseries celebrating the 150th anniversary of Yellowstone National Park. (Fox Nation)
Costner, 69, who has played John Dutton III on the series for five seasons, recently said he loved the show but was “disappointed” with how rumors of his exit were handled by production.
“I loved the show. I liked the people on the show. I liked what it was about. I loved that world,” Costner said.
'Yellowstone' ends after second half of season five amid Kevin Costner drama
“There was a time when the show was off the air for 14 months… that's true,” he said. “I could have done a lot more in that time, but I didn't realise I could do it. [hold-up] It was going to happen.”
“I read all the stories,” Costner said. “I was disappointed that no one on their behalf ever stepped up to defend what I actually did for them. There was a moment when I thought, 'Wow, when is anybody going to say something about what I did and didn't do?'”
Costner said the show did not have scripts for the second half of the season, making it difficult for him to balance the two seasons. Horizon And Yellowstone,
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“I left my movie [‘Horizon’] “I was on time to be there for 5B,” Costner said. “I left exactly when they wanted, and that made it difficult for me. It turned out they didn't have a script for 5B. They needed four more days to finish the first eight episodes. I left early to give them what they needed to finish the eight episodes, and I felt bad that the audience didn't get 10 episodes. They didn't have a script for anything else.”
Costner said, “What you read at the end was that I said, 'Look, I'm doing my movie. If you want me to work a week, because you want to kill me or something, I can give you a week.' I didn't actually have that week to give them, but I said, I'll do that. And then they said, 'I'll work a week.'” [spun that] I only wanted to work for a week.”
Fox News Digital's Christina Dugan Ramirez and Emily Trenham contributed to this post.