Itโs hard to imagine Paramountโs Yellowstone hitting an expiration date given all its ongoing success and cultural momentum โ especially considering all the spin-off properties it spawning from the recently released 1923 starring Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren as 6666 (coming soon) โ but by all accounts, series creator Taylor Sheridan already has an end in mind for the hit neo-western drama.
โ[Creator Taylor Sheridan] has said to me, he knows how he wants to end it,โ revealed Yellowstone cast member Wes Bentley โ who portrays adopted son Jamie Dutton โ during a panel discussion alongside Gil Birmingham (Thomas Rainwater), Kelsey Asbille (Monica Dutton), and Dawn Olivieri (Sarah Atwood).
โThat was a while ago. Iโm sure he didnโt know how we were going to get there but he knows now.โ
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โI know how it ends. Iโm writing to that ending,โ Taylor Sheridan confirmed during an earlier interview with The New York Times.
โThereโs only so much hovering one can do before the story starts to lose its locomotion โ you canโt put it in neutral just because itโs successful.โ
โIt will go as many years as it takes for me to tell the story, but youโre not going to see nine seasons of it. No way.โ
Elsewhere, the actor-turned-powerhouse Hollywood creative echoed a similar sentiment.
โYou have to move in a straight line toward that end. You canโt walk in circles, waiting to get there, because the show will stagnate.โ
โYou 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.โ
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.
โIf 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,โ Taylor Sheridan told Entertainment Tonight.
Like weโve 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: โIโm not a Dutton.โ โ referring to his characterโs birth identity, James Michael Randall.
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The actor then expressed his belief that Jamie Dutton is primed for execution.
โI donโt think heโs 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,โ elaborated Wes Bentley.
โHeโs already end-gamed what is happening to him. He knows whatโs coming and heโs trying to get what he can out of it by making some moves and taking opportunities.โ
โIs 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 thatโs whatโs complicated about him.โ
โHe has a good argument. He doesnโt go about it the right way necessarily, or I guess in ways people hate, but itโs his way and itโs who he is.โ
Tune in to see how everything unfolds.
