Yellowstone may be over, but the series lives on in the hearts of the fans and also, honestly, the spinoffs. On the 2026 TV schedule, there have been two branch outs, including Marshals on CBS. The second season of the Luke Grimes-led drama premiered on Sunday, with Kayce Dutton’s story continuing. Marshals has already seen a few Yellowstone alumni guest starring in the first season, with another alum set to star in Season 2. This has raised the question: Could Kevin Costner ever appear? Someone actually straight-up asked Grimes.
Costner starred in Yellowstone as John Dutton before departing ahead of the second half of the fifth and final season. I must note here that John was ultimately shot and killed in the 5B premiere. He's dead and long gone. That hasn’t stopped people from hoping we'd see the beloved character back.
With this in mind, I'm not shocked someone asked Luke Grimes about the possibility. While chatting with USA Today, he wasn't unenthusiastic about the possibility, and it doesn't sound like there was any drama between the show's two leads. (Grimes has previously stated he wasn't fully in the know about Costner's exit.)
Well, I haven't spoken to Kevin since we stopped working together, not for any other reason than just we're both busy guys and life moves on. But I mean, I think it would be cool. I doubt that will happen at this point.
Costner’s exit from Yellowstone was allegedly preceded by an argument with other co-star Wes Bentley. However, Taylor Sheridan has since explained the departure, pointing out that Costner was “ready to go” by the time his initial three-season contract was up, and he decided to stay much longer. He eventually knew that it was time for him to move on, and you can’t get a more permanent exit than by killing off the character. It’s not so surprising that Grimes isn’t positive it will happen, but it’s nice that he would love to work with his on-screen dad again.
That being said, if Costner were to ever return, it would have to be a flashback scene, obviously. Again, John's dead. So there would be logistical obstacles to this fan wish, too, and ow that would go is unclear. Still, there are certainly plenty of possibilities, and I do think the audience misses Joh Dutton a lot.
Luke Grimes Has An Interesting Idea If John Dutton Were To Come Back
However, if there were ever to be a flashback scene on Marshals, Grimes has a different character in mind for it, and I can’t say I blame him:
I think if there was a flashback, I'd probably rather it be with Monica than John. I think that'd be more poignant to the character, but we'll see.
Marshals had killed off Kayce’s wife, Monica (Kelsey Asbille) off-screen, as mentioned in the series premiere. Asbille wasn’t announced to be starring in the spinoff with her on-screen husband and son, and many were wondering what would happen before the Bandaid was ripped off. Still, the death was a surprise, and I do think having Monica return in either a flashback or dream would make complete sense, especially as Kayce and Tate continue to mourn her and get used to their new normal. Let's go ahead and throw in John, too. Sounds great to me.
Marshals is still pretty early in its run, so there’s no telling who else from Yellowstone could make an appearance, including Costner. At the very least, the Dutton family legacy is living on in Marshals, and there is still a lot to look forward to. New episodes of Marshals air on Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on CBS, streaming the next day with a Paramount+ subscription.
