'Yellowstone' star Luke Grimes admits 'none of us expected Kevin Costner to leave'

As the final episodes of Yellowstone gear up for release, Luke Grimes admits the cast were in the dark about Kevin Costner's exit.

Grimes, who portrays Kayce Dutton in “Yellowstone,” told Fox News Digital that the cast always assumed they would finish the series without Costner's character John Dutton, but the way it played out, “none of them did see us coming.”

“I think we knew from the beginning that the show would eventually end without Kevin. That’s exactly what it boils down to,” Grimes said.

“In the first season he was ill and at the time they thought they would lose him. And you know, the story should always be: When the patriarch is gone, when this big, powerful presence is gone – what do the children have? it takes to keep the thing running?

“None of us ever knew when this would happen or how. And so, in a way, it happened. I don't think any of us saw it coming. But we all kind of prepared for it.” “And, you know, whose character does what? And it was really fun to be on this journey with the audience,” he continued.

“It happened in a way I don’t think any of us saw it coming.”

—Luke Grimes

Grimes said he was “a little disappointed” that the “Yellowstone” cast didn't know that Costner wouldn't be returning for the conclusion of season five.

“I guess I was probably a little disappointed that we didn't know he wasn't, you know, coming back,” he began. “I think the farewell might have gone better if we had done it differently. It was, you know, more of a surprise than anything.”

Kevin Costner portrayed John Dutton on the Paramount network show “Yellowstone.” (Paramount Network)

“But like I said, that’s above my pay grade. And our job is to just show up and do what’s on the page and do it to the best of our ability,” Grimes said.

In June, Costner told People he was “disappointed” with how production handled the rumors surrounding his exit.

“I loved the show. I liked the people on the show. I liked what it was about. I love this world,” he said at the time.

WATCH: 'Yellowstone' star Luke Grimes admits 'none of us expected Kevin Costner to leave'

After the first half of season five aired late last year, the show took a break for the holidays. They were is ready to resume filming at the start of the new year, but that has been postponed until sometime this summer.

While Costner was ready to continue, he said, “The scripts weren't there.” “There was a moment where this show stopped for me for 14 months… That's a fact,” he said. “I could have done a lot of things during that time, but I didn't realize that [hold-up] would happen.

Before it was announced that Paramount Network would release the final episodes of season five on November 10, Costner said he was aware of the online buzz surrounding his exit and was not thrilled about it lack of support from production.

“I read all the stories,” he said. “I was disappointed that no one on her side… ever defended what I actually did for her. There came a moment when I thought, 'Wow, when is someone going to say something about what I did against her?' What haven't I done?'”

Kevin Costner will not appear in the final episodes of Yellowstone. (Christophe Simon/AFP via Getty Images)

Despite the disappointment, Costner told the outlet that he was still interested in returning and clearing up any outstanding questions.

Do you like what you're reading? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS

“I always felt that … it could be an interesting moment to come back and finish the mythology of this modern family,” he said in June. “And if that happens, I would intervene if I agreed with how it was done.”

“In the end, I couldn’t do any more than I had already done,” he added.

“Yellowstone” follows the Dutton family through years of trying to save their family ranch in Montana. In addition to Costner, the star cast also included Grimes, Kelly Reilly, Cole Hauser and Wes Bentley.

Kevin Costner, Kelly Reilly and Luke Grimes star in Yellowstone as members of the Dutton family. (Photo by Michael Buckner/Deadline/Penske Media via Getty Images)

Although the series was supposed to end after the fifth season, negotiations are currently underway for a sixth season of the Paramount show. Deadline reported.

No deals have been made yet, sources told the network in August, but “Yellowstone” will likely move forward with Hauser and Reilly in the lead roles. Costner will not be seen in the second half of season five.

Cole Hauser and Kelly Reilly's Rip Wheeler and Beth Dutton are reportedly the focus of Yellowstone's potential sixth season. (Primary)

WATCH: 'Yellowstone' star Luke Grimes says Kevin Costner's exit from the hit series was a surprise

In August, Fox News Digital reached out to Paramount about the report, but a company representative declined to comment.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER

Kelsey Asbille, who plays Kayce Dutton's love interest Monica on “Yellowstone,” told Fox News Digital that she's not in the loop about a possible sixth season. “You ask me the difficult question. I don't know it. “I don’t know anything,” she explained.

Kelsey Asbille portrays Monica in Yellowstone. (Photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)

Monica [Kelsey Asbille] is Kayce Dutton [Luke Grimes’] Love interest in “Yellowstone.” (Photo by Roy Rochlin/WireImage)

Asbille gave a glimpse of what fans can expect in the final episodes of “Yellowstone.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“It's a really big season and I mean we come into the game hot on Sunday night. Hatch.” [Grimes] I said we'd get in at ten, so yeah, I just hope they like it. “I’m just sorry we kept you waiting and we hope you like it as much as we do,” Asbille said.

The final episodes of “Yellowstone” season 5 premiere November 10 on Paramount+.