Former star of the hit Western departed the series midway through its fifth and final season

Yellowstone director Christina Voros has shed light on how the show plans to come to an end, despite its star Kevin Costner’s unexpected, premature exit earlier this year.

Ahead of the hit Western’s long-awaited return this month, Voros addressed how Costner’s character, John Dutton, remains an “essential component” to the show’s final episodes.

“John Dutton is still central,” she told The Hollywood Reporter. “His presence is integral. I think to say any more than that would potentially compromise all the work that went into redacting the scripts!

“But I think the reason people are wondering, ‘Is he, isn’t he? Where is he, where is he not?’ is because he is the patriarch and his presence is an essential component to the story.”

“I just realized that I’m not going to be able to continue Season 5b or into the future,” he said in an Instagram video. “It was something that really changed me. I loved it, and I know you loved it. I just wanted to let you know that I won’t be returning.”

Early reports suggested that his exit was due to a falling out with the show’s creator, Taylor Sheridan, over scheduling conflicts allegedly caused by the actor’s desire to shoot his Western passion project, Horizon – An American Saga.

However, Costner later disputed these claims, saying that had been prepared and ready to shoot whenever he was required, but the production kept getting pushed back.

“I did it for five years, and I wanted to work more than once a year,” he said on a June episode of the Today Show. “We lost an entire year at one point, and I thought, that can’t happen again.”

He added that he “would love to go back” to Yellowstone, albeit “under the right circumstances.”

Yellowstone returns with the second part of its fifth and final season on November 10 on Paramount+ at 8pm ET/PT