Looks like the Dutton’s are facing WWII next.

Stop the presses! A new  prequel series is reportedly in the works. Even though Season 5 Part 2 will mark the end of the modern Dutton family‘s story, Taylor Sheridan still isn’t finished with giving us a glimpse of what came before Kevin Costner’s John Dutton.

Paramount Network officials revealed that a new spinoff series, dubbed , is in development. News of the latest Taylor Sheridan project to be greenlit came in Feb. 2023, when Paramount producers held a thank-you event in Hamilton, Montana to talk up the economic benefits brought to the area by 

 and , which film nearby.

According to Hamilton-based outlet , Executive Vice President of partner 101 Studios Tom Prince described the upcoming  as a follow-up to , currently in its first season on Paramount+.

“We’ve got , we’ve got the sequel, we’re not letting the cat out of the bag, it’s going to be called ,” Prince said.

Information is scant right now about the who, what, and where of the upcoming series. (Is it the previously announced second season of , or a separate show entirely?) But we’ve pieced together a few hints to paint a fuller picture of , including potential plot points, locations, and characters we might see in the period drama.

What’s The Plot of ?

While plot details are being kept under wraps, it’s safe to assume will dramatize the effects of World War II on the Dutton family ranch. , starring Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren as Jacob and Cara Dutton, is a Depression-era drama that grapples with historic events, including Prohibition and record-breaking drought.

 could follow ‘s lead and use WWII as both a backdrop and a plot engine. Perhaps we’ll see some Duttons go off to war. Action set pieces in the 

 universe  been increasingly audacious, going back to . Or maybe U.S. military operations will move into the wide open west, threatening the prairie’s way of life.

When Will  Air?

is still in development, so the prequel series likely won’t hit screens until 2024 or 2025. Considering the writer strike in Hollywood just ended and the actor strike is still ongoing, it’s looking like the latter is a more realistic possibility.

Where Is  Filming?

As ever, will film in Montana at the site of the 

Yellowstone Ranch. “My guess is that it’ll be shooting largely in the Bitterroot Valley because it has to take place at what is Chief Joseph Ranch,” Prince said of the prequel series’ filming plans. (Now, if those WWII theories are correct, we could see some amazing on-location shoots in Europe as well.)

The Cast

No official casting announcements have been made, but recent headlines suggest that, like the Harrison Ford-led , Paramount could be searching for a big-name star to front 

. It’s been confirmed that Matthew McConaughey will be starring in a new Yellowstone sequel series that will follow the final episodes of Yellowstone Season 5. But details are under wraps as to what that actually entails.

Does that mean we’ll essentially get a McConaughey-led  Season 6? Or will the actor head back in time to front ? Better yet, the Texas native  star in the previously announced spinoff series , which is set at the famed West Texas ranch owned by Sheridan.

Wherever McConaughey lands, we’ve got some ideas for  characters who could carry over to ‘s wartime Montana. Most of the actors below would have to be recast, as their characters will have aged more than twenty years since the events of 

. (We won’t see Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren’s Jacob and Cara Dutton — unless the pair live to be over a hundred years old.)

Jack Dutton (Darren Mann) – John Dutton Sr.’s son and great-nephew to Jacob Dutton. Jack is dedicated to the upkeep of the Dutton family ranch, and if he’s in , he’ll likely be running the ancestral seat.

Elizabeth Strafford Dutton (Michelle Randolph) – Jack Dutton’s feisty betrothed.

John Dutton II – The son of Jack and Elizabeth Dutton, and the father of Kevin Costner’s John Dutton III.

While we haven’t seen his birth yet in , he should be a young man during the events of .

Spencer Dutton (Brandon Sklenar) – the younger brother of John Dutton. A World War I veteran, an aged-up Spencer could speak to the horrors of war in .

Alexandra (Julia Schlaepfer) – Spencer Dutton’s betrothed.

The Dutton-verse is ever-expanding, and so is the list of notable Dutton names. Here’s a handy family tree to help you brush up on your  trivia.