John Dutton’s tragic end hasn’t sat well with the fans.
Yellowstone Season 5 Part 2 began with the death of John, who was found face down in his bathroom, with his hand on a gun. While it seems clear that the fate of the character has officially been sealed, fans are in denial.
It’s reasonable for the fans to refuse to believe that a man of such an incredible caliber was put down so easily. This is why some eagle-eyed fans took the matter into their own hands and spotted one clue that had them believing that the head of the Dutton family would make a comeback later.
Fans speculate John Dutton has not been killed
Even after it was evident that John was killed, and his death was ruled a suicide, fans speculate that he has not died and will be back in the future mainly because his face was unrecognizable when they discovered his body. They took to Reddit to hash out their theories.
One user wrote that the hitman who carried out the job must have been paid off by John himself since he wanted to stage his death to keep his enemies off his back. He wrote, “The John theory could be possible. Like the hit man is in on it and John knew someone was trying to kill him. Jamie and skanky Sarah go to prison.”
Another fan theory suggested that the dead body was a body double because the face was unrecognizable. The user wrote, “The dead body was a double where the face was too badly injured to truly identify. Late in the season, as Beth and Kayce are facing off against Jamie, what looks like a tornado hits the ranch. What it is really is two riders doing horse twirlies and kicking up dust. The first is John, who set this in motion to see who he could trust. The second is Travis, who is revealed as the one true hero of the show and saves everything and everyone before triumphantly twirling off into the sunset. The end.”
A fan made a ridiculous theory on what might have happened, saying, “John Dutton isn’t really dead, he just had his face blown off by the gunshot and has to have a secret face transplant. He will return recast, played by some actor that we can’t be mad about like Harrison Ford or Tom Hanks or something.”
Other fans maintained that it was hard for them to believe that John was killed off so easily and that he was faking his death for his kids to see so that he could take care of the target on his back while he was in hiding.
Will John Dutton return in future episodes?
Although the fan theories seem reasonable, it is highly unlikely that Kevin Costner will return to the show to continue playing the Dutton patriarch. This is because he had already stated that he would be exiting the series, so killing him off seals that message.
Costner himself spoke about his character’s death on the series with E! News during the 2024 Governors Awards in Los Angeles on November 17, where he addressed the outrage of the fans regarding his exit. He said, “Fans have a voice in things,” before adding, “and they choose to follow stuff.”
The two-time Oscar winner said that he had pitched how John Dutton’s death should be handled in the series a while back to Sheridan, but it seems like they did not pay heed to his opinion. In the series, Sarah Atwood, who is Jamie’s (John’s estranged son) girlfriend carries out the entire plot of the murder. Costner reacted to this plot saying, “They do what they want to do. That’s fine with me.”
The actor had addressed his departure from the series this June, explaining that he had scheduling conflicts with his four-part movie anthology Horizon: An American Saga.
Yellowstone star Luke Grimes, who plays Kaycee Dutton, John’s youngest son says that the patriarch’s death should not come as a shock since it was already pre-determined. While speaking to People Magazine at the Grand Ole Opry debut in Nashville for his 2024 self-titled album, Grimes noted that he understands why the fandom feels cheated that their hero got killed off suddenly, but it has always been the plan.
He explained, “It was always the plan for him to have to go away for the story to really ramp up, and that was the story. You lose a patriarch of the family. Can the kids do it on their own?” The musician and actor revealed a silver lining to John’s death saying, “I think originally he was supposed to die much earlier. So, in a way, they got way more of John Dutton than they were going to originally get.”
While it has been confirmed that Costner himself won’t make a return on screen, if we look at it from the perspective of the script, there may be a loophole to the character’s return. If that is the case and the creators choose a new face for the character of John Dutton, the fan theories may stand.
However, until more details are released, it is wise to stick to the fact that John Dutton is dead, and won’t be returning in the future. Following John’s death, here is a closer look at the new season below.
The next episode of “Yellowstone” airs Sunday, Nov. 17, at 8/7c on Paramount Network.