Looks like we have a new addition to the Yellowstone prequel, 1923.
We already know that the show will feature the likes of Harrison Ford (Jacob Dutton, James’s brother), Helen Mirren (Jacob’s wife, Cara), along with Sebastian Roche, Michelle Randolph, Brian Geraghty, Aminah Nieves, Julia Schlaepfer, Darren Mann, and many more.
With that being said, the upcoming prequel series announced that Brandon Sklenar will be joining the cast as well, according to Variety.
Sklenar will portray Spencer Dutton, who is Jacob Dutton’s nephew and John Dutton Sr.’s (Dale) brother, who struggles with the horrific memories of fighting in World War I.
If you remember back to that 1883 easer clip where Tim McGraw’s character is with his two sons talking with the Native American man on his land, his son Spencer is in that clip.
This isn’t Sklenar’s first time on a Paramount+ show, as he portrayed the legend himself Burt Reynolds on the streaming network’s limited series, The Offer. He also had roles in Westworld, Mapplethorpe, The Magic Lantern, The Big Ugly, and Vice.
The second chapter of the Dutton story will centers around the Dutton family who have settled in Montana, and are now living in the time of prohibition and the roaring ’20s.
Here’s the brief synopsis:
“1923 focuses on the Dutton family’s next two generations as they struggle to survive historic drought, lawlessness and Prohibition, and an epidemic of cattle theft; all battled beneath the cloud of Montana’s great depression, which preceded the nation by almost a decade.”
Fans were debating what role Ford and Mirren would play in the second installment of the Yellowstone prequel, with most thinking they would play an older version of one of James Dutton’s (Tim McGraw in 1883) kids.
Harrison Ford will play Jacob Dutton, the brother of James in 1883 played by Tim McGraw, while Mirren will play Cara Dutton, Jacob’s wife.
Production for the prequel is underway in Montana at the moment, as they shoot for a December 2022 launch.
In the mean time, let’s take a look at the upcoming stars for the show:
The Dutton Family:
James Badge Dale will play John Dutton Sr., the oldest nephew and right-hand man of Jacob. He’s the son of James Dutton (Tim McGraw) and the great grandfather of John Dutton (Kevin Costner).
Marley Shelton will play Emma Dutton, the wife of John Dutton Sr. and the mother of Jack Dutton.
Darren Mann will play Jack Dutton, the son of John Sr. and Emma, and the great nephew of Jacob Dutton. He’s a hardworking rancher and dedicated to the Dutton name.
Brandon Sklenar will portray Spencer Dutton, Jacob Dutton’s nephew and John Dutton Sr.’s brother.
Additional Characters:
Michelle Randolph will play Elizabeth Strafford, a feisty woman who is willing to do anything to marry into the Dutton family.
Brian Geraghty will play a loyal ranch foreman in the show.
Aminah Nieves will play Teonna Rainwater, a young woman who lives at a government residential boarding school. Judging by the last name, she’s probably related to Thomas Rainwater from Yellowstone.
Julia Schlaepfer will play Alexandra, a British woman who meets one of the Duttons while abroad.
Based on the family tree and the timeline we’re given, it sounds like James and Margaret Dutton of 1883 are no longer around (they’ve would’ve been around 80 years old and the average lifespan back then was about 50 years old).
And while Harrison Ford will play presumably the younger brother of James Dutton, you have to imagine that much of the story will focus on John Sr. and Jack (much like 1883 focused on Elsa), as they are the line that drives us towards a modern day Yellowstone.
Nevertheless, I can’t wait to see how it all comes together this December.
The Dutton Family Tree
In that 1893 flashback from Yellowstone Season 4, we see that James has two sons with him, John Sr. (who will be a major character in 1923) and Spencer… Generation Two.
They should be in their forties or so by the time 1923 rolls around and will have children of their own (Generation Three), and John Sr. and Spencer might even have young grandchildren (people got married pretty young back then), so that’s Generation Four.
Now, here’s where it get’s interesting… John Dutton III (born sometime in the 1950s) of Yellowstone would be Generation Five, which means Kayce, Jamie (adopted), the late Lee Dutton, and Beth Dutton would all be Generation Six, and young Tate would be Generation 7.
And that’s exactly what Tim McGraw himself has confirmed.
Tim says he plays the great-great-grandfather of John Dutton in the bonus Blu-ray content:
“I play John Dutton’s great-great-grandfather. Our family is the first to discover Yellowstone and settle it. And in doing that, we are the first to really defend it and fight people off, and try to establish it and then survive.
J.D.’s the patriarch of the family. He’s the guy that had the balls, I guess, to set out and take his family across the country and head up to Montana, and sorta settle this unknown land, this untamed land up there, and turn it into something.”
Of course, which generation of Dutton has implications for the show because in the Season Finale of 1883, Elsa Dutton (Isabel May) is on the verge of death and her father, James Dutton (Tim McGraw) needs to find a place to bury her because wherever they bury her body is where the Dutton family is going to settle.
So Spotted Eagle, a Crow elder, recommends a spot called the Paradise Valley.
But, there’s a catch… the Duttons can’t have it forever.
“Yes, Paradise. Good name. But you know this: that in seven generations, my people will rise up and take it back from you.”
To which James says:
“In seven generations, you can have it.”
Doesn’t bode well for the Dutton family in Yellowstone Season 5, does it?
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