It’s hard to imagine Paramount’s Yellowstone hitting an expiration date given all its ongoing success and cultural momentum – especially considering all the spin-off properties it spawning from the recently released 1923 starring Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren as 6666 (coming soon) – but by all accounts, series creator Taylor Sheridan already has an end in mind for the hit neo-western drama.
“[Creator Taylor Sheridan] has said to me, he knows how he wants to end it,” revealed Yellowstone cast member Wes Bentley – who portrays adopted son Jamie Dutton – during a panel discussion alongside Gil Birmingham (Thomas Rainwater), Kelsey Asbille (Monica Dutton), and Dawn Olivieri (Sarah Atwood).
“That was a while ago. I’m sure he didn’t know how we were going to get there but he knows now.”
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“I know how it ends. I’m writing to that ending,” Taylor Sheridan confirmed during an earlier interview with The New York Times.
“There’s only so much hovering one can do before the story starts to lose its locomotion – you can’t put it in neutral just because it’s successful.”
“It will go as many years as it takes for me to tell the story, but you’re not going to see nine seasons of it. No way.”
Elsewhere, the actor-turned-powerhouse Hollywood creative echoed a similar sentiment.
“You have to move in a straight line toward that end. You can’t walk in circles, waiting to get there, because the show will stagnate.”
“You have to keep moving forward, and there have to be consequences in the world, and there has to be an evolution toward a conclusion. Can that be another two seasons beyond this? It could.”
The fifth and current season has heavily alluded to the possibility of the Duttons losing their prized Montana ranch, now more than ever, after an extremely eventful (and extremely bloody) 100-year custodianship. But even before that first XXL-sized episode of season 5 premiered, Sheridan hinted that a beloved family member is on track to be killed off in the coming weeks.
“If you look at everyone as a chess piece in [Yellowstone] season 5, it is impossible to keep playing the game without taking chess pieces off the board,” Taylor Sheridan told Entertainment Tonight.
Like we’ve said before, if Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser) dies, we riot.
When prompted about whether he believes a Dutton or two will drop by the time the finale rolls around, Wes Bentley himself simply replied: “I’m not a Dutton.” – referring to his character’s birth identity, James Michael Randall.
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The actor then expressed his belief that Jamie Dutton is primed for execution.
“I don’t think he’s playing a game here. He does want to see something left for his son. I think he has seen himself [dead] from before the beginning of the season,” elaborated Wes Bentley.
“He’s already end-gamed what is happening to him. He knows what’s coming and he’s trying to get what he can out of it by making some moves and taking opportunities.”
“Is he just holding onto power or is he actually trying to do something with the land? I think Jamie has valid questions about a lot of things and that’s what’s complicated about him.”
“He has a good argument. He doesn’t go about it the right way necessarily, or I guess in ways people hate, but it’s his way and it’s who he is.”
Tune in to see how everything unfolds.
