1923 Star Thinks Yellowstone Spinoff is Heading Towards a Major Dutton Family Revelation

One of the big questions fans of Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone universe have been asking as the first season of prequel series 1923 continues is who, exactly, is John Dutton III’s — aka, Kevin Costner’s character in Yellowstone — grandfather. While it seems like an odd sort of thing to theorize about, events in 1923 have made the family tree something of a question. John Dutton Sr. (James Badge Dale) was killed in a recent episode and while some fans assume that means that his son, Jack (Darren Mann) will then be John II’s father, there’s also a theory that Spencer Dutton (Brandon Sklenar) and his fiancée Alex could end up being John II’s parents. The question is one that has been hotly debated among fans and it turns out, the cast as well but Julia Schlaepfer, who plays Alex, has her own theory — she thinks 1923 is deliberately building to the reveal.

“It was funny, because when we all got to Cowboy Camp, the cast, we were all debating it,” Schlaepfer told TV Insider. “We were like, ‘Who is it? I don’t know.’ And we would pester Taylor all the time being like, ‘Taylor, it’s gotta be this, right? Because this and this and this.’ And he’d be like, ‘I don’t know. Honestly, guys, I don’t know.’ And we were like, ‘Of course, you know! You have a family tree somewhere written out.’ But I do think the show is building towards that.”

Sklenar has also said that Sheridan hasn’t revealed how things play out just yet.

“It’s something that Taylor is keeping very close to the vest,” Sklenar said. “I have my own theories, but it’s to be told, to be written, to be seen. He’s always moving all that stuff around.”

Dale had previously said roughly something similar, that Sheridan is always changing things so there’s no way to know how it will ultimately come out.

“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.”

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”).