Luke Grimes addresses ‘negative’ fan reaction to Yellowstone final season without Kevin Costner

When it comes to a show with such a highly-anticipated finale as Yellowstone has, mixed reactions are bound to happen, and Luke Grimes has something to say about it.

After six years, five seasons, several unexpected delays, back and forths and some disputes, Yellowstone officially kicked off its very last season last week, without its lead star Kevin Costner.

Spoiler alert, the series dealt with the Horizon director’s decision to not return by killing off his character John Dutton, and now his former co-star Luke has spoken out about how fans have reacted.

Speaking with People at his Grand Ole Opry debut in Nashville for his 2024 self-titled album, Luke maintained that it was always the plan for John Dutton to “go away” somehow, sometime.

Still, he noted: “There’s been some negative reactions,” and relented that: “I think they feel sort of cheated.”

However he next shared: “I think we were all lucky to have Kevin on the show as long as we did,” adding: “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?”

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Luke stars in the Paramount hit show as Kayce Dutton, John’s youngest son with late wife Evelyn Dutton.

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Further speaking about the writers’ decision to kill off Kevin, Luke noted: “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,” and emphasized: “I would keep that in mind.”

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He also added: “If it happened in such a shocking, quick way, that’s how life works, right? I mean, when you lose people, it’s sometimes not how you planned and not when you think it’s going to be.”

MORE: Kevin Costner breaks silence on his Yellowstone character’s shocking fate

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Though it was rumored long before, Kevin confirmed he wasn’t returning to Yellowstone in a video message on Instagram last May, in which he said: “I just wanted 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,” adding: “And thinking about Yellowstone — that beloved series that I love, that I know you love — I just realized that I am not going to be able to continue season 5-B, or into the future.”

MORE: Yellowstone’s Cole Hauser makes surprising remarks on end of show: ‘America has spoken’

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Prior to that, Chris McCarthy, President & CEO Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios, said in a statement: “Yellowstone has been the cornerstone on which we have launched an entire universe of global hits — from 1883 to Tulsa King — and I am confident our Yellowstone sequel will be another big hit, thanks to the brilliant creative mind of Taylor Sheridan and our incredible casts who bring these shows to life.”

David Glasser, CEO of 101 Studios and executive producer of Yellowstone, added, “The Dutton story continues, picking up where Yellowstone leaves off in another epic tale.  We are thrilled to bring this new journey to audiences around the world.”