Kevin Costner officially rules out ‘Yellowstone’ return: ‘I’ll see you at the movies’

It’s official — Kevin Costner is not returning to “Yellowstone.”

The Oscar-winning actor, 69, took on Instagram on Thursday to break the news to fans after much speculation ahead of the second half of the show’s 5th season.

Costner revealed he’s shifting his focus on making his western movie “Horizon: An American Saga” in a video shared with his 1.5 million followers on the platform.

“I just want to reach out and let you know that after this long year and a half of working on Horizon and doing all the things that that’s required,” he said in the clip.

“Thinking about Yellowstone, that beloved series that I love, that I know you love. I just realized that I’m not going to be able to continue, season five or into the future.”

Costner said that the hit Paramount series, which recently started production on the second half of its fifth and final season, “was something that really changed me.”

“I loved it and I know you loved it. I just wanted to let you know that I won’t be returning,” he shared. “I love the relationships that I’ve been able to develop. And I’ll see you at the movies.”

The Post has reached out to Paramount for comment.

Costner played rancher John Dutton for four and a half seasons on “Yellowstone” before exiting the series.

The actor’s tenure on the hit show was thrust into doubt in May 2023, when news broke that Costner would not return to “Yellowstone” after Season 5.

That same month, it was announced that the show would end with Season 5, leading to speculation that it was ending partly because Costner was leaving.

The news prompted speculation that Costner refused to be on set filming for more than one week for the second half of Season 5, which the actor’s attorney has denied.

The Golden Globe winner finally broke his silence about ongoing rumors of a feud between him and showrunner Taylor Sheridan last month.

“I have taken a beating from those f–king guys, and I know a lot of times where it’s coming from. I just elected not to get into that. But if you know me well enough, I made ‘Yellowstone’ the first priority, and to insinuate anything else would be wrong. I did not initiate any of those things. They did,” Costner told Deadline.

Sheridan, for his part, alluded to Costner wanting to leave “Yellowstone” to make “Horizon.”

Despite the conflicting stances, Costner showed interest in rejoining the show before it wraps production for good.

Last week, the “Bodyguard” actor told “CBS Sunday Morning” that he was considering returning if the storyline piqued his interest.

“If I like the story, where it was going, I would go back,” he said, adding that his reason for leaving had nothing to do with his new multi-film big screen project.

“I did everything that I was contracted to do with ‘Yellowstone,’” he added.

“Kevin has been a big part of Yellowstone’s success,” a Paramount Network spokesperson said in a statement to The Post. “While we had hoped that we would continue working with him, unfortunately, we could not find a window that worked for him, all the other talent and our production needs in order to move forward together.  We respect that Kevin has prioritized his new film series and we wish him the best.”

The first half of “Yellowstone” Season 5 finished in January 2023. The final episodes are shooting now and are scheduled to air on Nov. 10, 2024.