LOS ANGELES, 2025 — Taylor Sheridan’s ever-growing Yellowstone universe is preparing to open its most ambitious chapter yet. The upcoming prequel, 1944, will carry the saga twenty-one years beyond the events of 1923 and place the Dutton family amid the chaos and sacrifice of World War II. Production is expected to begin in late 2025, with a projected premiere in 2026.

A Patriarch Forged by Tragedy

At the center of 1944 stands John Dutton II, the man destined to become the father of Kevin Costner’s iconic modern-day patriarch. In his early twenties, John II emerges as a product of both love and loss—the son of Spencer Dutton and Alexandra, whose death from frostbite shortly after childbirth scarred the family forever. Sheridan reportedly envisions him as “a Dutton shaped by tragedy,” a young man who inherits not only land and duty but the emotional fractures of generations past.

Alexandra’s spirit, however, may not be gone entirely. Actress Julia Schleeper, who portrayed her in 1923, has expressed interest in returning in spectral form—perhaps as the ghostly echo of a mother watching over her broken family. Such a return would deepen the mythic tone that Sheridan has woven through every Dutton tale, blurring the line between legacy and haunting memory.

A World at War

Setting the story during World War II propels the Duttons far beyond Montana’s borders and into a global crucible. Whether John Dutton II is drafted to fight or remains behind to protect the ranch, the war will reach into every corner of his life. Sheridan’s scripts reportedly explore how the Duttons confront scarcity, fear, and the moral cost of survival as “the world comes for Yellowstone” for the first time.

Scenes are expected to shift between battlefield sequences and a home front stretched to its breaking point—mirroring America’s transformation during the 1940s. The Dutton ranch, once isolated and invincible, becomes a symbol of endurance amid worldwide upheaval.

Familiar Faces, New Blood

Several 1923 characters are poised to return, led by Brandon Sklenar as an older, battle-hardened Spencer Dutton. His dynamic with his son promises to drive much of the emotional core—two men united by blood yet divided by trauma. The widowed woman introduced near the end of 1923 is rumored to re-emerge as Spencer’s partner and a surrogate mother to John II, anchoring the family as the nation tears itself apart.

Then there is the wild-card rumor electrifying fans: Kurt Russell may finally join the Yellowstone universe. Reports suggest Russell could portray a distant Dutton cousin or a surrogate patriarch who arrives in Montana to guide John II through wartime turmoil. His involvement would bring both gravitas and a rugged frontier spirit, perfectly suited to Sheridan’s world of stoic cowboys and moral compromise.

The Bridge Between Past and Present

If 1883 chronicled the Duttons’ arrival in Montana and 1923 their survival through the Great Depression, 1944 appears set to explore how that hard-won land was defended during humanity’s darkest hour. Sheridan has hinted that the series will “connect the founding myth to the modern curse,” laying emotional groundwork for the dynasty audiences meet in the original Yellowstone.

Loss, duty, and legacy will once again collide—but this time on a global battlefield. By confronting the Duttons with a war too vast to fence off, Sheridan may finally reveal the origins of their obsession with protecting the ranch at all costs.

1944 promises to be both an epic war drama and an intimate family tragedy—a story where ghosts walk the land, the young bear the scars of the old, and the Yellowstone brand is burned deeper than ever before. When the series arrives in 2026, it may not just expand the Dutton timeline—it could redefine the very soul of the American West.