Yellowstone’s John Dutton star, Kevin Costner, is currently focussing on his Western movie Horizon, a project which has led to widespread reports that season five of the Paramount Network drama could be its last.
The wait for Yellowstone season five’s return to the Paramount Network has been one which has frustrated fans – and reportedly cast and crew alike – for some time now.
After initially being billed for a summer 2023 return, which would seem unlikely given Cole Hauser appeared to confirm a May 2023 filming date recently, the second part of the fifth run is yet to receive a premiere date.
There have also been reports of a rift between lead star Kevin Costner and showrunner Taylor Sheridan after the actor reportedly wanted to scale back his time on the record-breaking series to focus on his own big-scale project, Horizon.
The Daily Mail even reported that Sheridan had developed a “God complex” which also reportedly added fuel to the fire of the supposed rift.
But while concrete news on any Yellowstone filming updates remains scarce, an eagle-eyed fan has taken to Instagram to seemingly confirm production on Horizon is well and truly in full swing.
There has been no confirmation on how Costner’s commitment to Horiz on will – or even has – impact Yellowstone season five.
But new behind-the-scenes images taken by Instagram user @palmers_travelswithdoodles confirm his focus and time is dedicated to the Western project.
They shared on the social media site: “More pics of the set of Horizon movie!
“Covered wagons everywhere! Pretty cool,” they added before adding the hashtags #western #coveredwagons #utahisrad #kevincostnermovies.
Horizon first got the green light back in early-2022 and was announced as an epic four-movie-strong series set in America’s Midwest.
The first in the series wrapped production late last year and these new images suggest production on the second is now taking place.
Reports of Costner wanting to dedicate his time to Horizon rather than Yellowstone first emerged in February of this year.
There was even talk of Matthew McConaughey joining the Yellowstone universe, which also boasts 1883 and 1923, in place of the big-name Costner.
However, a spokesperson at the time told Express.co.uk: “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.
“Thanks to the brilliant mind of Taylor Sheridan, we are always working on franchise expansions of this incredible world he has built.
“Matthew McConaughey is a phenomenal talent with whom we’d love to partner.”
With Costner expected to take part in Horizon’s latest production, however, fans will have to hope he can spare time to complete the second half of Yellowstone season five soon.
Yellowstone seasons 1-5a are available to stream on Peacock in the USA and Paramount+ in the UK now.