Paramount “very confident” Kevin Costner won’t leave Yellowstone…but not certain

Yellowstone, about the trials and tribulations of a powerful Montana ranching family, is one of the most popular shows on TV. That’s why it caused such an earthquake earlier this year when rumors spread about the show potentially ending early thanks to star Kevin Costner — who plays patriarch John Dutton — not wanting to commit the time necessary to film the second half of the show’s fifth season.

Briefly, the rumor was that the Paramount Network was considering wrapping up the show early and replacing it with a new show set within the expanding Yellowstone Cinematic Universe, this one starring Matthew McConaughey in the lead role. The higher-ups at Paramount kinda-sorta denied this was happening…but not completely. They continued in that vein at Paleyfest the other week.

“What I can say is our star, the face of our show and the executive producer, [we] are very confident he’s going to continue with our show,” Paramount executive Keith Cox said, per The Hollywood Reporter. “Very confident,” huh? That’s nice. But notice how he didn’t just say that Costner was definitely returning and shut this talk down?

Yellowstone spinoff with Matthew McConaughey is happening

At this point, there’s little doubt that something is going on behind the scenes at Yellowstone, whether or not Costner ultimately leaves or the show actually ends prematurely. Also of note: THR confirms that the Matthew McConaughey spinoff is going forward, regardless of what happens with the original show. And if that part of the rumor was correct, you can’t help but wonder about the rest of it.

Kevin Costner could hold the fate of a media empire in his hands. He’s dancing with wolves for real now.

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h/t The A.V. Club