1
Credit: Inside the MagicYellowstone is apparently drawing to a close with the second half of Season 5, but series breakout star Cole Hauser is ready to keep going.
For months, Yellowstone fans have speculated about whether Paramount will attempt to keep the massively popular series going without Kevin Costner. As the series lead, Costner’s John Dutton is absolutely the public face of the show, despite an ensemble cast that includes Luke Grimes, Kelly Reilly, Wes Bentley, Kelsey Asbille, Gil Birmingham, and the aforementioned Cole Hauser.
The Dances with Wolves (1990) actor/director’s surprise announcement earlier this year that he would be leaving the show seemed to confirm that the prime series would soon be over and that Paramount would try to sustain the public’s bottomless thirst for grim-faced men on horses staring into the distance via spinoffs.
Related: ‘Yellowstone’ Future in Doubt: Showrunners Address Show’s Abrupt Ending
Kevin Costner has since blamed scheduling conflicts and production chaos for his departure, saying, “I gave them 25 of my days for this B thing in November and December [2022]. What they called 5B. The whole month of March [2023]. I didn’t shoot 5B. There was no script. And then things imploded.”
One thing he is sure about: it has nothing to do with Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1, his passion project and latest box office flop.
But in his absence, his junior co-stars are stepping up to take his role as center of the Yellowstone universe. In the latest issue of Cigar Aficionado, Cole Hauser confirmed that he is ready to star in a new spinoff of the franchise; it being Costner-less goes without saying.
Hauser said, “I don’t make the decisions, brother — I’m a hired gun. Would I like a spinoff? Yeah. It’s been a pleasure working with this cast, with Taylor Sheridan; why would we stop a good thing? Yeah, pen it, and let’s do it.”
Related: “Not Disneyland” Kevin Costner Defends His New ‘Yellowstone’ Flop
In the series, Cole Hauser portrays Rip Wheeler, the Yellowstone ranch fixer, husband of Beth Button (Kelly Reilly), and the unofficially adopted son of John Dutton.
He’s basically the tough guy of the ranch; Hauser explains the popularity of the character by saying, “I think the simple answer is you don’t get to see real American men this way anymore. He’s honest, he’s loyal, as insane as he can be at times, he has a great heart. The simplicity of life, the understanding of nature, I can go on and on.”
There have already been significant rumors that Yellowstone Season 6 would be reconfigured to move focus away from Kevin Costner and center on Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser. Now, it seems at least half of the on-screen duo is on board.
Do you want Yellowstone Season 6? Tell us below!