The fate of Taylor Sheridan’s cowboy drama remains unclear, and the updates from the stars are not making it any easier.

Amid the behind-the-scenes drama between Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan and his former main star Kevin Costner, the Dutton family saga has come to an abrupt end, with season 5 being announced as the series’ final.

The first half of the fifth season has already aired, but when it comes to the second half, things are getting complicated. Initially, the finale was supposed to arrive at some point in fall 2023, but due to the on-set drama and joint writers and actors strikes, Yellowstone has found itself in limbo.

So far, the situation seems pretty grim: we don’t have a premiere date, and the second half hasn’t even started filming yet. But Yellowstone actors feel free to share their expectations of the upcoming grand finale. And even though they can only speculate, their updates are not helping at all.

For instance, Kelly Reilly a.k.a. Beth Dutton in Yellowstone, believes that the series finale is going to be “bittersweet and epic.” But she is also “not sure it will be happy,” as she shared in a season 5 featurette for Blu-Ray and DVD release.

Luke Grimes, who portrays Kayce Dutton on the show, has assured ET Online that the season finale will have plenty of “really juicy drama” (as if we didn’t have enough of that already).

But the most worrisome season finale update comes from Wes Bentley, who plays Yellowstone’s Jamie Dutton. Without further ado, Bentley went as far as hinting at a “crazy bloodbath” in the season 5 conclusion.

“It was a different kind of intensity than we’ve had in previous seasons,” he told TV Line, explaining how different Yellowstone has been recently compared to earlier seasons. “Maybe that’s a build-up for some crazy bloodbath at the end, or maybe that tension continues until it explodes in some more compact way.

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The fandom can’t help but agree with the least optimistic predictions for the series finale. After all, this is IT for the Dutton family, so it would be naive to think that everyone is getting out alive. So we’ll have to prepare ourselves for certain amount of loss; the question is, just how huge and heartbreaking that loss will be?..

Has the Yellowstone season 5 part 2 release date been announced?

Unfortunately, we don’t have a firm release date for Yellowstone season 5 part 2, but we do know the expected window for the new episodes of the series to debut. Yellowstone season 5 part 2 is scheduled to premiere in November 2023.

Deadline reported the news this spring.

However, there is speculation that the ongoing writers’ strike could impact this timeline.

Originally, Part 2 was scheduled to premiere in summer 2023, but production was delayed due to the strike. As of now, it is unclear if or how much the strike will affect the release date.

Yellowstone season 5 part 2 has not been filmed

As of August 2023, production on Yellowstone season 5 part 2 has not started yet. In an interview with People, conducted before the start of the SAG-AFTRA strike, actor Luke Grimes shared that filming hadn’t started because of the writers strike.

With the actors union now also striking, it’ll be sometime before production can get up and running.

Will Kevin Costner be in Yellowstone season 5 part 2?

A lot of those rumors about Yellowstone season 5 part 2 have been about star Kevin Costner and his availability. As far as we know, Costner will return for Yellowstone season 5 part 2. There have been reports that he hasn’t agreed to return, but that’s unclear.

We do know that it’s been reported that Costner will not return for any future episodes after the end of Yellowstone season 5. That’s the last we’ll see Costner in Yellowstone if the reports are true.

It doesn’t seem right that Yellowstone and Costner would ride into the sunset like this, but that’s to be determined.

Sheridan spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about Costner’s exit recently.

My last conversation with Kevin was that he had this passion project he wanted to direct. He and the network were arguing about when he could be done with Yellowstone. I said, ‘We can certainly work a schedule toward [his preferred exit date],’ which we did.”

How Costner will leave the series is potentially still in the works, but Sheridan knows John Dutton, the character Costner plays, won’t be killed in a car crash, according to THR.

“I don’t do f***-you car crashes. Whether [Dutton’s fate] inflates [Costner’s] ego or insults it is collateral damage that I don’t factor in with regard to storytelling.”

Yellowstone season 5 part 2 cast

We’re still waiting for official confirmation on the Yellowstone season 5 part 2 cast, but we have a good idea of who will be in the fifth season.

Stay tuned for the rest of the part 2 cast!

Will Matthew McConaughey be in Yellowstone season 5 part 2?

There’s been a lot of chatter about Matthew McConaughey joining Yellowstone. As of August 2023, nothing has been confirmed. It’s definitely possible that McConaughey could appear in Yellowstone season 5 part 2, especially if he’s going to star in the upcoming Yellowstone series.

Sheridan commented on McConaughey’s potential involvement in the interview with THR, which claimed McConaughey is in negotiations to make it happen.

Yellowstone season 6 is not happening, but there’s good news

Yellowstone season 6 is officially not happening, and Yellowstone will end after season 5. At first glance, that looks like bad news, but it is not.

There’s a new Yellowstone show in the works. It’s expected to continue the story of the Dutton family beyond Yellowstone season 5. As mentioned, Matthew McConaughey is rumored to be involved with the project, as well.

We don’t know much about where Yellowstone is going from here, but we’re also waiting on Taylor Sheridan’s other shows set in this universe, including 1923 season 2, 6666, 1944, and more.

How many episodes are in Yellowstone season 5?

We all thought that there would be 14 episodes in Yellowstone season 5. That’s confusing for fans who think season 5 is already over and we’re waiting on season 6.

Actually, we’ve seen the first eight episodes of Yellowstone season 5. Those episodes aired on Paramount Network in November through January. The remaining episodes have not aired yet, as of June 2023.

Sheridan clarified in the interview with THR that he has not decided the episode count yet, and it will be determined at a later date. Here’s what Sheridan told THR:

“If I think it takes 10 episodes to wrap it up, they’ll give me 10. It’ll be as long as it needs to be.”