2023 will mark an end of an era for Yellowstone and its prequels, but creator Taylor Sheridan already has major plans for spin-offs and sequel series.
Yellowstone and its universe of prequels and spinoff series is experiencing a number of changes that will affect the future of the franchise. The original series rose to immediate success in 2018 with Kevin Costner starring as rancher John Dutton living in Montana. Co-creator Taylor Sheridan has played an integral part in the creative direction of the series, and is also responsible for major motion pictures such as Hell or High Water, Wind River, and Sicario. Sheridan and his Yellowstone team have announced several big changes to the Yellowstone universe that will undoubtedly make or break the popular franchise moving forward.
Yellowstone is set to end later this year with the release of the second half of its fifth season in November 2023. There are currently two Yellowstone prequel series available to watch now, 1883 and 1923, and one spin-off series titled 6666 set to premiere in early 2024. Yellowstone and its prequels have been celebrated by fans for its portrayals of the mythical American western landscapes and rugged characters. Some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry such as Harrison Ford, Sam Elliot, and Helen Mirren have been drawn to the Yellowstone universe which will begin to look very different after 2023.
Yellowstone Season 5 Will Be The Last (With Kevin Costner Leaving)
Kevin Costner recently announced that he will officially be leaving Yellowstone after season 5. Shortly after this announcement, Sheridan and Paramount confirmed that the entire series will end after its fifth season. There were hopes that Costner would stay on as John Dutton, since he has been and continues to be the main draw of the beloved series. Costner had already expressed before Yellowstone season 5 began shooting that he was looking to spend less time on set. Costner told the Yellowstone production team that he would only be available for 65 days of shooting for the first part of season 5, a number that Costner later shortened to only 50 days of shooting (via Deadline).
Paramount had tried working with Costner to accommodate his shooting requirements for the second part of season 5. Costner has recently stated that he only wants to shoot a total of 10 production days for the remaining six episodes. There is new speculation that Kevin Costner may not return for Yellowstone season 5 ending due to scheduling conflicts. Costner is currently in production for his own passion project called Horizon, which will center on the American Civil War. A compromise between Sheridan and Costner has yet to be reached, which could alter the quality of the celebrated protagonist’s ending. Costner was reportedly making over $1 million per episode during Yellowstone’s season 5, part 1.
A New Yellowstone Sequel Will Star Matthew McConaughey
With the announcement of the upcoming end of the Costner-led Yellowstone era, a sequel series starring Matthew McConaughey was also confirmed. The new original series will take place after the events of Yellowstone season 5 and will be written by Sheridan specifically for McConaughey in a brand-new role. The project is currently untitled and is in development with an expected release date as soon as the end of 2023, depending on the duration of the current Writers Guild strike. McConaughey was rumored to replace Costner on the original Yellowstone series, but Sheridan and his creative team decided to start fresh with a sequel series instead.
Little is known of the specifics around McConaughey’s Yellowstone character, but he is expected to pick up the narrative where Yellowstone
1923 Season 2 Will End The Yellowstone Spinoff
1923 began in 2022 as the second prequel series in the creative world of Yellowstone. Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren provided the star power that launched the series into early critical acclaim. 1923 acts as a prequel to Yellowstone that expands on the history of the Dutton family. It is also a sequel to the events that take place in the other prequel series, 1883. 1923 season 2 is set to definitively end the Yellowstone spinoff, which was the original intention for the series when it was first created. 1883, which premiered in 2021, only ran for one 10-episode season, so the conclusion of 1923 after two seasons does not come as much of a surprise.
The series premiere of 1923 broke the record for a Paramount+ debut show, totaling over seven million viewers for the first episode alone. The season 2 premiere date is not yet confirmed but is expected to be sometime late in 2023 or in early 2024. 1923 season 2 is set to bring back its entire cast, with Ford and Mirren confirmed to reprise their roles as Jacob and Cara Dutton. The show will likely bring an end to their narrative and set up the events that led to Yellowstone’s original series premiere, although there is potential for even more Yellowstone prequel shows to occur between the years 1923 and 2018.
What Other Yellowstone Shows Are Still Happening?
In addition to the major addition of the McConaughey series, two other spin-offs in the Yellowstone universe are currently set to release in the near future. The series 6666 will take place at the historic Four Sixes Ranch, a real-life massive property in western Texas. The story is expected to follow Jimmy from Yellowstone who was sent to the ranch by John Dutton and ended up falling in love with the place so much that he decided to stay. The final six episodes of Yellowstone will shoot many of their scenes on the 6666 ranch (according to Sheridan), which could set up the events for the upcoming 6666 spin-off series (via Deadline).
One other spin-off series in the Yellowstone universe is also set to premiere in 2023 called Bass Reeves. This miniseries will be a spinoff of the prequel series 1883. The narrative of Bass Reeves will be inspired by the events of 1883 but will not be considered its second season, even though its original title was announced as 1883: The Bass Reeves Story. David Oyelowo will star as the historic figure Bass Reeves, the first Black United States Deputy Marshall to serve west of the Mississippi River. It will have smaller connections to the Duttons’ storyline and previous Yellowstone spin-offs, but will be considered part of Sheridan’s mythical Wild West universe.