Kevin Costner Doesn’t ‘Anticipate’ Being on Location for the Rest of 2023 as ‘Yellowstone’ Ends

Yellowstone has announced that the second half of Season 5 will premiere in November, but it's not clear if Kevin Costner will be involved in the new episodes at all. In new court documents, the Oscar-winning actor and director says he doesn't expect to have to be on location for "at least the rest of 2023," despite the fact that Yellowstone will wrap by the end of the year.

Costner has filed new court documents in his ongoing divorce with his wife of 18 years, Christine Baumgartner, who filed for divorce on May 2, citing irreconcilable differences. His new filing states that Baumgartner was supposed to move out of their marital residence within one month after filing for divorce in accordance with a premarital agreement that dates back to 2004, when they wed, but she has refused to do so.

Costner has spent much of the last year filming the first installment of his upcoming epic Western, Horizon — which reportedly played a role in Baumgartner's decision to divorce — and the new court documents reveal that Costner's longtime editing workspace is contiguous to his house. He wants Baumgartner to vacate the residence because he needs to live there while he is editing in that space, and in his court filing, which asks the court to force her to leave, he adds that he expects to be home in California for the rest of the year as they share custody of their kids. Both parties have requested shared custody of their three children.

"I am a very hands-on father," he writes in documents Radar Online obtained. "I drive our children to school, attend their events and am involved in their daily lives. I agree that, when I am on location filming, the children will spend more time with their mother. However, I do not anticipate that I will be on location for at least the rest of 2023. As stated above, the second residence adjacent to my Separate Property Residence is used as my editing studio, and, as such, I will be able to continue work on my film projects in Carpinteria for the rest of the year."

Costner's filing comes after months of back-and-forth with the producers of Yellowstone over his shooting schedule for the second half of Season 5, which conflicts with Horizon. Sources have said that the show intends to kill off Costner's character early in the second half of Season 5, and Paramount has announced Yellowstone will come to an end after the upcoming episodes. Matthew McConaughey will headline a Yellowstone sequel that will debut immediately upon the show's conclusion and also star some of the main cast of Yellowstone.

Paramount announced in May that Yellowstone would return for the rest of Season 5 in November, and the announcement did not reference Costner's participation. The Hollywood Writers Guild went on strike beginning on May 2, and the schedules of many productions are up in the air as the strike continues. Paramount's hit Yellowstone prequel, 1923, has delayed production indefinitely until the situation is resolved, and it's unclear how the strike will affect Yellowstone — which leaves the door open for Costner to possibly shoot some scenes in 2024 if production delays that long.

As part of Taste of Country's comprehensive coverage of all things Yellowstone, check out our Dutton Rules podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.