Taylor Sheridan May Be About To Pull Off A Major Actor's Character Death After Failing With Kevin Costner In Yellowstone

By Sean Morrison

Published Jan 10, 2025

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Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for Yellowstone season 5, part 2 and Landman episode 9.Taylor Sheridan has a chance to do what he couldn't do with Kevin Costner's John Dutton in Kevin Costner left Yellowstone before its ending. Costner was experiencing creative differences with Taylor Sheridan, so his character, John Dutton, had to be written off the show. Unfortunately, that didn't leave Sheridan with many options, and John's ending in Yellowstone didn't feel adequate for such an important character.

Both Taylor Sheridan and Yellowstone season 5, part 2 were somewhat trapped by Kevin Costner's departure from the series. After Costner left Yellowstone in the middle of season 5, Sheridan had to find a way to dance around his absence in the show's final episodes. There was really no satisfying way to do that, as John was the biggest part of the cast of Yellowstone, but what ended up happening was still disappointing. Luckily, Sheridan got another chance to write a major character's death in a different show, and it's shaping up to be much better than Yellowstone.

Kevin Costner's John Dutton Had A Disappointing Death In Yellowstone

John's Death In Yellowstone Was An Anticlimactic Ending To A Legendary Character

John Dutton's death in Yellowstone season 5 wasn't the best possible way the show could have bid farewell to its main character. It was probably the best way to handle it without Kevin Costner's involvement, but it was still lacking for the character himself. After years of development and buildup and years of Yellowstone following John fighting tooth and nail to save his ranch and protect his family, he died rather easily. A group of assassins simply broke into his house and killed him while he slept. It wasn't the warrior's death fans were hoping for, and it wasn't fitting for John to go out so meekly.

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Part of the reason John's death was so underwhelming is because of how sudden it all felt. Because of Costner's departure, Yellowstone had to abruptly end John's story without much setup. At the start of Yellowstone season 5, part 2, John was simply already dead, and the show backtracked to explain how it happened. Aside from Jamie (Wes Bentley) asking Sarah Atwood (Dawn Olivieri) about "professionals," Yellowstone didn't have any buildup to John's death. He also didn't get much resolution because of how quickly he died, and the whole situation just felt messy.

Taylor Sheridan Looks Set To Do A Big Death Right In Landman

Landman Could Give Jon Hamm's Monty A Much Better Death Than Yellowstone Gave John

Taylor Sheridan now has the chance to do a major character's death right in Landman. At the Monty is dead or dying in Landman. If Monty did die, then Landman already handled a major character's death better than Yellowstone handled John's death. While most of that is due to the fact that Sheridan was able to plan the season around Hamm's involvement, which he couldn't with Costner, Landman also earned Monty's death.

Landman created a situation where even the death of a major star's character felt natural and earned, which is what Yellowstone should have done with John.

Throughout Landman season 1, Monty's heart health has been a major concern. From the very beginning, Cami (Demi Moore) has been hounding him about the stress related to his job as the CEO of M-Tex and begging him to worry about his personal health. That set up a major heart problem for Monty later in the season, which Landman episode 8 delivered on. Then, Landman episode 9 actually let the moment where Monty (potentially) died breathe. Landman created a situation where even the death of a major star's character felt natural and earned, which is what Yellowstone should have done with John.

Landman Is Taylor Sheridan's Best Yellowstone Replacement

Landman Has All The Pieces To Be Sheridan's Newest Franchise

The way Landman is handling Monty's death is a sign of why it's probably Taylor Sheridan's best chance at a replacement for Yellowstone. Out of all of Taylor Sheridan's shows, Landman has the most justification to become a franchise and spawn spinoffs like Yellowstone did. Landman has a star-studded cast, plenty of interesting characters - like Cooper (Jacob Lofland) or Rebecca (Kayla Wallace) - and a subject that could easily be the focus of multiple seasons of television. It's incredibly easy to imagine Tommy's (Billy Bob Thornton) work in the oil industry to turn into a sprawling saga like John's work in the ranching industry.

Landman Release Schedule
Episode #	Title	Release Date
1	Landman	November 17, 2024
2	Dreamers and Losers	November 17, 2024
3	Hell Has a Front Yard	November 24, 2024
4	The Sting of Second Chances	December 1, 2024
5	Where Is Home	December 8, 2024
6	Beware the Second Beating	December 15, 2024
7	All Roads Lead to a Hole	December 22, 2024
8	Clumsy, This Life	December 29, 2024
9	WolfCamp	January 5, 2025
10	The Crumbs of Hope	January 12, 2025

Sheridan also has one major benefit with Landman that he didn't with Yellowstone: experience. Sheridan has always been a great writer, ever since he created Sicario, but he now has over half a decade of experience writing for television. He knows how to manage characters across multiple seasons, his name carries enough weight to get stars onboard and keep them in the cast, and Landman just proved he knows how to write a fitting ending when one is needed. If anything is going to replace Yellowstone, it might be Landman.