Dutton Ranch: How the Yellowstone Spin-off References Kevin Costner’s John Dutton

Warning: This article contains spoilers for the first episode of Dutton Ranch.

The first two episodes of the new Yellowstone spin-off series Dutton Ranch have premiered on Paramount+ and the show almost immediately addressed the Kevin Costner-sized elephant in the room.

Titled “The Untold Want”, the series premiere begins at the ranch that Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) and her husband Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser) moved to in Dillon, Montana at the end of the series finale of Yellowstone. Sadly, their life in Montana is violently upended when a wildfire destroys their ranch. They start their lives over in Rio Paloma, Texas, where they buy a new ranch.

In the first episode’s opening moments, Beth, Rip and Carter (Finn Little) rush to save what they can from the ranch before the fire closes in. Beth quickly fetches a few items from their home: her father John Dutton’s cowboy hat, a framed photo of her and her dad, and her great-grand aunt Elsa Dutton’s knife.

(Elsa was the protagonist of the prequel series 1883, and her knife and its distinct beaded case also popped up as an Easter Egg in the spin-off series 1923.)

What’s notable about the photo that Beth grabs is that it shows a young Beth with Josh Lucas’ 1990s-era John Dutton not Costner’s incarnation who led the flagship series until his infamous exit during its final season. Lucas appeared on the original show in key flashbacks.

Given that Costner’s messy departure ended with lawyers involved and the Oscar winner publicly feuding with franchise creator Taylor Sheridan, it’s not that surprising that Paramount+ chose not to use Costner’s likeness here.

Or perhaps they contractually couldn’t use Costner’s likeness in any other property that isn’t the main Yellowstone show. Another recent spin-off, Marshals, verbally referenced John Dutton in its series premiere.

Although Sheridan is not writing Dutton Ranch as he did Yellowstone, he is credited as an executive producer and Hauser has said “Taylor’s got his hands all over this show.” Dutton Ranch was created by showrunner Chad Feehan, who exited the show just weeks before its debut after reportedly clashing with the leads, Sheridan, and executive producer David Glasser.

Taylor Sheridan is currently writing and producing a Call of Duty movie that Peter Berg will direct.