'Yellowstone' Star Luke Grimes Reacts to Kevin Costner's 'Unfortunate' Exit From Show

Luke Grimes is opening up about Kevin Costner's exit from Yellowstone.

In an interview with The Independent ahead of his second appearance at the famed country festival Stagecoach in California, Grimes referred to the Dutton patriarch's exit from the hit Paramount series as rather "unfortunate."

"Whatever happened there is unfortunate if it's changed anything about how the show is going to unfold," Grimes tells the outlet. "I know, [Costner] got busy with his movies that were like passion projects [the newly announcedHorizon: An American Saga for one]. At a certain point, you gotta do what you gotta do, man; you gotta do what you love."

Yellowstone is set to begin filming the second half of season 5 next month for the series' last and final season. The show was originally scheduled to return in late 2023, but there was a lot of tension between Costner and co-creator Taylor Sheridan, not to mention the Hollywood strikes. And with part two of season 5 expected to drop in November, the show's imminent return stirred some fond feelings from Costner, who told ET earlier this month he'd be interested in returning.

"I'd like to be able to do it but we haven't been able to," Costner said. "...I thought I was going to make seven [seasons] but right now we're at five. So how it works out -- I hope it does -- but they've got a lot of different shows going on. Maybe it will. Maybe this will circle back to me. If it does and I feel really comfortable with [it], I'd love to do it."

And, yes, Costner says he's thought about how John Dutton's story wraps up in Yellowstone.

"Well, you know, he needs to be proactive in what happens and I've kind of had my own fantasy how it might be," Costner said, "but that's Taylor's thing. I said as much to him a while back. I had thoughts how it could happen, but we just have to see."

Meanwhile, Grimes also opened up about Yellowstone being dubbed a "conservative fantasy" by some parts of the country due to its Western roots and reliance on artillery to defend the Yellowstone ranch.

"I think a lot of people see a cowboy hat and a horse and they think, 'Oh, that's not for me, those people believe differently.' And it's almost like they take these flawed characters in the show and chalk it up to some sort of weird belief that they've put on them," Grimes says. "Meanwhile, you can have a terrible person like [Succession's] Logan Roy, who lives in an apartment in Manhattan, and that's fine. That guy's a total piece of s**t. But that's OK. It's so funny to me because ... I just don't understand why that has to immediately equal some political belief. And I don't think it does."

Sheridan's also touched on the show's politicization, telling The Atlantic in 2022 that the label's puzzling.

"They refer to it as 'the conservative show' or 'the Republican show' or 'the red-state Game of Thrones,'" Sheridan said. "And I just sit back laughing. I'm like, 'Really?' The show's talking about the displacement of Native Americans and the way Native American women were treated and about corporate greed and the gentrification of the West, and land-grabbing. That's a red-state show?"

RELATED CONTENT:

Luke Grimes Dishes on Debut EP ‘Pain Pills or Pews’ and Hitting the Road | ET's Certified Country

Kevin Costner on Son's Acting Debut and Final Season of 'Yellowstone'

‘Yellowstone’ Final Season: Kevin Costner's Involvement and Where Sequel Series Stands (Report)

Kevin Costner's Son Hayes Stars in 'Horizon: An American Saga' Trailer