Yellowstone star Wes Bentley has been pondering the possible demise of Kevin Costner’s character for years.
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Bentley, who plays Costner’s fictional adopted son Jaime Dutton, recently revealed his thoughts regarding the show’s future amid reports that Costner may step away soon. According to insiders, Costner’s scheduling conflicts while filming season 5 of the hit show may lead to his early exit — most likely in the form of an on-screen death.
Speaking to TVLine, Bentley shared what it would mean for the show if Costner did exit the show.
“I thought about this in season 1 — because it’s always a possibility in TV, right? We’re always ready to die… [And John] really has got this hypnotic pull on Jamie.”
Ironically, the relationship between Jaime and father John has never been more troubling. As a result, Bentley thinks Jaime will have a much different reaction to John’s death than he might have had earlier in the show’s run.
“After John ran for governor and became the thing he said he hated, Jamie started to have a change of perspective,” Bentley said. “Maybe John is not this tough guy he says he is, maybe John doesn’t have ideas. Maybe he’s just another guy like the rest of them.”
Bentley likens the current situation to John falling off “the pedestal [he once occupied].”
“The deity is gone,” Bentley then explained of his fictional father. “I think that’s why Jamie’s choosing to try to have him killed. [He realizes that his] life would be much better without him, which is a big change for Jamie.”
Can Wes Bentley’s character Jaime repair the fractured relationship with his father in the second half of season 5?
In early February, reports began circulating that Costner’s impending exit would likely end the show for good. Costner apparently only committed to shooting one week for the second half of season 5, which, if true, would seriously limit the amount of story his character could be involved with.
Paramount+ responded to the speculation in a statement. “We have no news to report. Kevin Costner is a big part of Yellowstone and we hope that’s the case for a long time to come.”
The statement also directly responded to insider reports that actor Matthew McConaughey could take the reins as the lead of Yellowstone.
“Thanks to the brilliant mind of Taylor Sheridan, we are always working on franchise expansions of this incredible world he has built,” the statement also added. “Matthew McConaughey is a phenomenal talent with whom we’d love to partner.”
No matter how the future shakes out for the Dutton family, it seems that Jaime and John may be moving towards a permanent fracture. But then again, if we’ve learned anything from watching Sheridan’s masterpiece, it’s that we should always expect a twist when we least expect it.
