Marshals Season 2: Luke Grimes Says He Has Never Spoken to Kevin Costner Since

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Luke Grimes has confirmed that he and Kevin Costner have not spoken since the production of Yellowstone wrapped, a detail that lands with the weight of a dropped hammer in a quiet room. The news broke during a recent interview with USA Today, where the actor, who plays Kayce Dutton in the CBS spinoff Marshals, addressed the elephant in the room regarding his former on-screen father. Grimes stated plainly, "I've never spoken to Kevin since we stopped working together." He quickly added that there is no specific reason for the silence, noting, "You know, we're both busy guys and life moves on." It is a dry, pragmatic explanation for a silence that has fueled months of speculation among fans of the Taylor Sheridan universe. The lack of contact is not presented as a feud, but rather as the natural drift of two very different orbits in Hollywood. For a show built on the toxic, inescapable bond between a father and son, the real-life distance between the actors is a fascinating counterpoint to the drama they created on screen.

The Silence Between the Duttons

While the "busy guys" explanation is the official line, context matters. Grimes has addressed this dynamic before, most notably in a December 2024 interview with Esquire, where he discussed the atmosphere on set after Costner’s departure. He admitted that the absence of Costner removed a certain layer of conflict, making the final season of Yellowstone "the easiest season we've filmed." He clarified in a separate conversation with Men's Health that there is no hard feeling, but he drew a clear boundary: "I do have his phone number — I just don't feel like it's my place to reach out. He can reach out to me if he wants to." That is a significant distinction. It frames the silence not as a grudge, but as a hierarchy of initiative. Grimes is waiting for Costner to make the first move, a dynamic that mirrors the power imbalance of their characters. It is a passive stance, but it is also a firm one. The fact that this silence persists into 2026, with Marshals now in its second season, suggests that the professional distance has become a permanent fixture of their post-Yellowstone lives. TVLine has reached out to Costner for comment, but as of now, the silence from the other side of the line remains absolute.

Why a Flashback to John Dutton Might Be a Mistake

The question of whether Costner could return in a flashback, dream, or hallucination sequence for Marshals is one that fans have been asking since John Dutton’s death in Season 5 of the original series. Grimes was direct in his assessment: "I doubt that will happen at this point." More interestingly, he argued that even if it were to happen, it might not be the right choice. He suggested that a flashback featuring Kayce’s late wife, Monica, played by Kelsey Asbille, would be "more poignant to the character." This is a sharp piece of character analysis. Throughout Marshals, Kayce is struggling to avoid becoming his father, resisting the urge to use extra-judicial violence and the amoral pragmatism that defined John Dutton. Bringing John back into Kayce’s headspace, even as a memory, risks re-centering the narrative on the very toxicity Kayce is trying to escape. Grimes’ preference for Monica highlights a thematic shift: Kayce’s journey is about finding his own moral compass, not being haunted by the one he rejected. Asbille has not been approached for the role, according to Grimes, but he expressed a clear desire to work with her again, calling it something he would "sure love."

The Thematic Stakes of the Dutton Legacy

There is a counter-argument, however, that critics and some viewers have raised. Yellowstone was often criticized for softening John Dutton’s moral failings, portraying him as a brooding patriarch rather than the genuinely reprehensible figure he often was. He had people killed for land disputes and branded his own son. If Marshals is explicitly about Kayce trying to avoid becoming "scummy and self-interested" like his father, a flashback that reminds the audience of John’s true nature could serve a vital thematic purpose. It would prevent the show from inadvertently lionizing the father by omission. Without that reminder, Kayce’s struggle might feel less grounded, as if he is fighting a ghost that was never truly evil, just misunderstood. Grimes’ hesitation might be a creative choice to keep the focus on Kayce’s present, but it leaves a narrative gap. The showrunner, Spencer Hudnut, and the writing team, including Tom Mularz and Dana Greenblatt, will have to decide if the risk of re-introducing Costner’s persona is worth the thematic clarity. For now, the ball is in Costner’s court, both literally and figuratively, and the silence from him is deafening.

Marshals Season 2 premiered on October 4, 2026, on CBS and Paramount+. The series continues to explore Kayce’s transition from rancher to US Marshal, a role that demands a different kind of authority than the one he inherited. As the show moves forward, the absence of John Dutton, both on screen and in the real world, becomes a defining feature of Kayce’s character arc. Whether that absence is a loss or a liberation is a question the show is still answering, one episode at a time. The lack of communication between Grimes and Costner adds a layer of real-world tension that mirrors the fictional drama, reminding us that the lines between the Duttons and their actors are thinner than they appear.

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