The fact that Yellowstone will soon begin filming its final episodes had been a double-edged sword for fans—on the one hand, it means that the long-promised second half of the fifth season will at last begin making its way toward our screens, but on the other, it means that the hit ranching drama will be over.
Or will it?
While there’s no shortage of Yellowstone-adjacent shows in the works—the prequel 1923 is returning for a second season, along with a new historical prequel 1944, not to mention the direct spin-off possibly starring Matthew McConaughey, and the previously announced 6666—many have been hoping to see more tories focused on the modern day Duttons they fell in love with on the flagship show. Cole Hauser, who won the hearts of many Yellowstone fans as the enigmatic ranch hand Rip Wheeler recently fanned the flames of possibility, offering some vague hints that there could be more onscreen action ahead for Rip’s swoon-worthy love story with his wife Beth (played by Kelly Reilly), after the main series comes to a close.
“We’ll see where that leads, but I know that there’s some stuff on the horizon when it comes to Taylor’s ideas for Kelly Reilly and myself and some of the other cast,” Hauser told Country Living. “I’m excited to see where he goes creatively with that but right now it’s just, let’s finish strong; let’s do the best we can.”
The implication echoes industry murmurings which have suggested that Hauser and Reilly, along with a few other members of the Yellowstone cast, could be heading to the spin-off operating under the working title 2024. In February 2024, Puck reported that Hauser, Reilly, and Luke Grimes (who plays the Dutton son Kayce) were all in negotiations to join the spin-off after the concept was reworked to bring on characters from the original.
In March, the publication confirmed that negotiations were still ongoing, but there’s been no official word confirming whether they’ve signed on for the series. Considering that McConaughey himself, who has been widely reported as the lead for the spin-off since last spring, has also supposedly not signed a contract yet, it’s perhaps unsurprising that there hasn’t been more definitive news.
Reilly herself seemed to dismiss the possibility of joining a spin-off in March, telling Collider, “I’m sort of prepping for that now [and] that’s my tunnel vision thing that I care about most. And what goes on beyond that? There are discussions, you know. Don’t believe everything you read. It’s just nonsense. But we’re gonna, you know, let’s wait and see. I don’t have an answer right now. But we’ll see.”
We’ll see, indeed, and hopefully sooner than later. With Yellowstone’s final batch of episodes scheduled to begin airing in November, there’s still plenty of anticipation to keep fans on the edge of their seats.