1923 Star Isn’t Even Sure About the Yellowstone Family Tree

With the Yellowstone prequel 1923 now streaming on Paramount+, many fans of the wildly popular franchise have started trying to put together the complex connections that make up the Dutton family tree, specifically in terms of figuring out how the present-day family led by John Dutton III, played by Kevin Costner on Yellowstone, connects to Jacob Dutton, played by Harrison Ford in 1923. Fans thought they had things figured out with Jacob’s nephew John Dutton Sr. presumably being John’s grandfather, but last week’s episode saw the character’s death in a tragic shoot-out. With the prequel thus far only showing that John and his wife Emma have one son, Jack, the family tree may be in question, and it turns out that James Badge Dale, who plays John Dutton Sr., is himself not exactly clear on the family tree.

Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Dale admitted that they need a flow chart to keep track and that even he isn’t quite clear on the tree, which could change depending on what series creator Taylor Sheridan has planned.

“I don’t know the tree. We need a flow chart. I’ve seen them online, when people have tried to create them, Dale said. “I don’t know if those are accurate or not. And here’s the thing, this is Taylor’s universe. We could be saying one thing or thinking one thing and Taylor can decide something else and we’ll be watching 1942 and realize it’s a little different and he’ll change it up.”

Could Spencer be John Dutton’s grandfather?

It’s not impossible that Spencer Dutton is actually John Dutton’s grandfather. At the end of the most recent episode of 1923, Cara Dutton (Helen Mirren) wrote Spencer in Africa and told him about the death of his brother and the likelihood of his uncle’s death, telling him that he needs to come home. With Jack’s fiancée also seriously injured — she was shot in the abdomen — it seems possible that the next generation of Duttons may come from Spencer and his new fiancée, Alex, perhaps with their son being named John in honor of Spencer’s brother.

What is 1923 about?

1923, the next installment of the Dutton family origin story, will introduce a new generation of Duttons led by patriarch Jacob (Ford) and matriarch Cara (Mirren). The series will explore the early twentieth century when pandemics, historic drought, the end of Prohibition and the Great Depression all plague the mountain west, and the Duttons who call it home.

In addition to Ford 1923 also stars Helen Mirren, Darren Mann (“Animal Kingdom”), Michelle Randolph (“A Snow White Christmas”), James Badge Dale (“Hightown”), Marley Shelton (“Scream”), Brian Geraghty (“Big Sky”), Aminah Nieves (“Blueberry”), and Jerome Flynn (“Game of Thrones”).

1923 is now streaming on Paramount+.