As it turns out, cowboys do say goodbye.
The death of Kevin Costner's Yellowstone character recently sent shockwaves beyond the boundaries of Dutton Ranch, with many viewers expressing outrage over how John Dutton III was killed off in the Paramount show.
But for the two-time Oscar winner, who said he actually pitched series creator Taylor Sheridan two different endings for his character, he's not shaking in his boots over the fan backlash.
"Fans have a voice in things," Costner exclusively told E! News at the 2024 Governors Awards in Los Angeles Nov. 17, "and they choose to follow stuff."
The 69-year-old added that he had pitched his character's death to Sheridan "a while back," but it was ultimately up to producers on the exact way John would meet his maker. (Spoiler alert: Dawn Olivieri’s character Sarah Atwood—the girlfriend of John's estranged son Jamie, played by Wes Bentley, orchestrated a murder plot to off the Dutton patriarch.)
As Costner quipped, "They do what they want to do. That's fine with me." (For more interviews from the 2024 Governors Awards, tune into E! News Monday, Nov. 18, at 11 p.m.)
The actor announced his departure from the Western series in June, explaining that he was "not going to be able to continue" filming due to scheduling conflicts with his four-part movie anthology Horizon: An American Saga.
"It was something that really changed me," Costner—who starred on Yellowstone for four and a half seasons—said in a statement of working on the series. "I love the relationship we've been able to develop and I'll see you at the movies."
The first installment of Horizon premiered in June. So, when can fans expect the second chapter of the saga to drop?
"I'm gonna try to figure that out," he told E! News with a laugh. "I make these things, I will figure out how to get it to an audience."
Costner added that Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2 will "tie in" with the first installment, while he's "trying to figure out" the third and fourth chapters.
"Everybody has an impress that maybe things come to me easily," he noted. "I think projects do come to me. But when it comes to something I want to do, sometimes it's a bigger struggle."
But Costner is up for the challenge.
"If this is what it has to be for me to bring a movie to America and around the world," he continued, "that's what I'll do."
—Reporting by Nikki Novak
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