“Yellowstone” Star Luke Grimes Denies Kevin Costner’s Exit Influenced John Dutton’s Fate

Better believe that fans are raging over the latest ‘Yellowstone’ episode which saw Kevin Costner’s John Dutton die by a gunshot wound. The patriarch’s death was initially taken to be suicide until viewers realized that Dawn Olivieri’s Sarah Atwood – the girlfriend of John’s estranged son Jamie (Wes Bentley) – had hired a hitman to kill him.

While it marked the most viewed episode of the Paramount series so far, it is also perhaps the most negatively critiqued by fans. Some chose to see John’s death as resulting from Costner’s exit, but lead star Luke Grimes is here to tell us that it’s not essentially the case.

Yellowstone Spoilers – Luke Grimes Reacts To Negative Fan Backlash Resulting From John Dutton’s Death

With John Dutton out of the way, the family is struggling to hold on to their iconic family ranch, Yellowstone.

But the struggle to keep the outside wolves from devouring them might not even stand up to the struggle they’ll do to keep themselves from devouring each other.

John’s death kind of marks a climax of some sort, with every wolf out for its pound of flesh. Can the kids cope?

During his Grand Ole Opry debut, the actor and country music singer discussed the fate of the Dutton family now that the patriarch is out of the way.

“There’s been some negative reactions,” Grimes said of fan reaction to the show’s Nov. 10 return, which sees Costner’s Dutton discovered dead from a gunshot wound in the final minutes.

Yellowstone Kevin Costner Open To Return, Having Discussions With Creator, Taylor Sheridan

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“I think they feel sort of cheated. And what I would say to that is, I think we were all lucky to have Kevin on the show as long as we did,” he continued. “It was always the plan for him to have to go away for the story to really ramp up, and that was the story. You lose a patriarch of the family. Can the kids do it on their own?”

However, he insists Costner’s exit had nothing to do with his character’s death. After comparing John’s death to other cinematic greats like King Lear and The Godfather, he added: “I think originally he was supposed to die much earlier. So, in a way, they got way more of John Dutton than they were going to originally get. I would keep that in mind.”

This echoes ‘Yellowstone’ creator Taylor Sheridan‘s sentiment that Costner’s exit didn’t change the ending, but rather quickened it.

“I’m disappointed [of Kevin Costner’s exit]. It truncates the closure of his character. It doesn’t alter it, but it truncates it,” Taylor Sheridan confirmed in a 2023 interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

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