Yellowstone fans were left disappointed over the weekend when the creator and a majority of the cast of the popular Paramount Network series were no-shows at their PaleyFest panel in Los Angeles.
Originally, the panel was set to include most of the stars of the series -- including Kevin Costner -- as well as creator Taylor Sheridan and executive producer David Glasser. However, only Moses Brings Plenty, Dawn Olivieri, Josh Lucas and Wendy Moniz were in attendance, along with Keith Cox, president of development and production at Paramount Network.
The absence of Costner, Sheridan, Glasser, Kelly Reilly, Cole Hauser, Luke Grimes, Kelsey Asbille, Wes Bentley, Gil Birmingham and Jacki Weaver at the event was said to be due to "scheduling conflicts." The event was first announced in mid-January.
Cox did not speak to reporters at PaleyFest but did address Costner's future on the series when he took the stage at the Dolby Theatre. The star is rumored to be embroiled in behind-the-scenes tension on the show, leaving fans worried about the fate of his character, patriarch John Dutton.
"What I can say is our star, the face of our show and the executive producer, [we] are very confident he’s going to continue with our show,” Cox told the crowd, to excited applause.
The update comes nearly two months after it was first reported that Yellowstone might come to an end in its current form sooner than expected amid a Deadline report alleging disagreements over Costner's filming schedule.
At the time, a spokesperson for Paramount Network told ET that the network had "no news to report," while adding that Costner "is a big part of Yellowstone and we hope that's the case for a long time to come."
In February, ET sat down with reporter Matthew Belloni, founding partner of Puck News and the first to report on the on-set challenges and disagreements that have reportedly plagued the show during its fifth season.
"Yellowstone is really in limbo right now until they can figure out whether Costner is coming back or, more likely, whether he's going to be written out of the show," Belloni explained. "Once that determination is made, they can finish writing the second half of this season, shoot it, and it will likely air in the fall."
For his part, Belloni was pessimistic about the future of Yellowstone with Costner as its centerpiece. The franchise has spun off two series, 1883 and 1923, and is currently also moving forward in development of a spinoff series starring Matthew McConaughey.
"I think the negativity right now has gotten to a point where it's going to be very difficult for [Costner] to come back to the show," Belloni predicted. "If I had to bet, I would say that he's probably going to leave and that the show will end and they will do a new version of Yellowstone starring Matthew McConaughey, some other actor... maybe they end it entirely and start fresh with new people. But my guess is that the version of Yellowstone that we know is probably going to end with this season."
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