Kevin Costner and Cole Hauser at the Yellowstone season 2 premiere party

Yellowstone's Cole Hauser addresses season five return following Kevin Costner exit

The Rip Wheeler actor is gearing up to reunite with his co-stars

TV Writer

May 1, 2024May 1, 2024, 1:50 PM GMT+1

Cole Hauser has confirmed his return to Yellowstone, revealing that he's "excited to go back to work." In a new interview with People magazine, the actor, 49, was quizzed about the fifth and final instalment of Paramount's neo-Western drama.

Cole Hauser smiling on the set of Yellowstone. — Cole Hauser portrays Rip Wheeler in the hit series

"It's been a year and a half. I'm excited to see my castmates," replied Cole. Adding that he's looking forward to working with Kelly Reilly – aka his on-screen wife Beth Dutton – the A-lister remarked that he's also happy to see showrunner Taylor Sheridan again.

Cole Hauser as Rip Wheeler in Yellowstone and Kelly Reilly as Beth — The actor is excited to reunite with Kelly Reilly

"I think he's going to direct some [episodes]," explained Cole. "So I'm excited about that. Just get back up in Montana and go to work."

According to Deadline, production on the final episodes will resume at the end of spring, and with Cole talking about his return to set, it could be a matter of days or weeks until the cast and crew set foot on Chief Joseph Ranch.

When the time comes, however, Yellowstone lead Kevin Costner is not expected to join them. Last year, it was confirmed that the A-lister would not reprise the role of John Dutton, and had been focusing his attention on the Western epic, Horizon.

Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 is set to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival this month, while the second film, Chapter 2, will debut in August.

Kevin Costner in Yellowstone — Kevin Costner will not return for the final episodes of Yellowstone

Nonetheless, Kevin hasn't ruled out a return to the Yellowstone universe altogether. Speaking to Entertainment Tonight at Cinema Con in April, he said: "I'd like to be able to [return to Yellowstone] but we haven't been able to.

"I've loved making that series. I made five seasons of it, I thought I was going to make seven [seasons]. So how it works out — I hope it does — but they've got a lot of different shows going on. Maybe it will. Maybe this will circle back to me. If it does and I feel really comfortable with [it], I'd love to do it."

Kevin Costner sits in a chair as John Dutton in Yellowstone scene — The A-lister is open to reprising his role in the future

Asked if he had any thoughts on how John Dutton's story should end, Kevin replied: "Well, you know, he needs to be proactive in what happens and I've kind of had my own fantasy how it might be, but that's Taylor's thing. I said as much to him a while back. I had thoughts how it could happen, but we just have to see."

Despite Kevin's absence, Cole and the rest of the cast are hoping to conclude the series on a high note. Speaking to Country Living in April, Cole noted: "I'm so focused on finishing Yellowstone the way it needs to be finished right now—well, just the show itself.

(L-R) Wes Bentley, Gil Birmingham, Kelly Reilly, Kevin Costner, Cole Hauser, Kelsey Asbille and Luke Grimes — Cole and the rest of the cast are are hoping to conclude the series on a high note

"We'll see where that leads, but I know that there's some stuff on the horizon when it comes to Taylor's ideas for Kelly Reilly and myself and some of the other cast. I'm excited to see where he goes creatively with that but right now it's just, let's finish strong; let's do the best we can."

Part two of season five is expected to air in November 2024, and with a bit of luck, we'll get to find out how the Duttons fare.

Sign up to Off Camera for all the gossip and goings-on from the wonderful world of TV and film

By entering your details, you are agreeing to HELLO! Magazine User Data Protection Policy. You can unsubscribe at any time. For more information, please click here.