Paramount 'Very Confident' Kevin Costner Will Return to ...

Kevin Costner and other Yellowstone stars dropped out of a PaleyFest panel about the Paramount Network show at the last minute on Saturday, April 1, amid continuing gossip that Costner’s schedule demands were bringing the hit Western to an abrupt end.

But Keith Cox, president of development and production for Paramount Network, told audience members at Saturday’s panel that he’s “very confident” Costner is still committed to Yellowstone, as Variety reports.

He also said that an announcement about production on the second half of Season 5 is coming “soon” and that fans can expect “phenomenal” episodes to come, per Insider. “I’m confident,” he added.

Paramount Network

The comments roused applause from audience members — those who remained, anyway. Insider reports some fans walked out of Saturday’s panel and some even cried out in protest after learning that Costner and costars Kelly Reilly, Cole Hauser, Luke Grimes, Kelsey Asbille, Wes Bentley, Gil Birmingham, and Jacki Weaver were missing the event due to “scheduling conflicts.” Yellowstone executive producers Taylor Sheridan and David Glasser were also no-shows.

Instead, only cast members Josh Lucas, Wendy Moniz, Mo Brings Plenty, and Dawn Olivieri joined Cox at the panel.

Reporters found out about the cast absences about an hour before the event, per Insider, and the absences took audience members by surprise, too, especially because the lineup change wasn’t announced on the PaleyFest website, as Variety reports. One fan wondered on Twitter whether there’d be refunds for the event, adding, “What a joke and rip-off.”

In February, Deadline reported that Sheridan, Paramount Network, and Paramount Global were plotting to end Yellowstone and start a new series in the franchise, one possibly starring Matthew McConaughey. The issue, according to Deadline, was Costner’s schedule demands, with the site adding that he only wanted to spend a week shooting the second half of Season 5. An attorney for the actor denied those demands.

At the PaleyFest red carpet on Saturday, Brings Plenty said he is “not worried about anything” because the “right people [are] at the helm” of the series, per The Hollywood Reporter. “Kevin is very much a big part of the show and hopefully will continue to be for a very long time.”

Yellowstone, Season 5 Return, Summer 2023, Paramount Network