I firmly believe this Dutton deserves a Yellowstone spin-off more than Rip, Beth and Kayce

With Taylor Sheridan planning many Yellowstone spin-offs, I am surprised that the most deserving Dutton still doesn't have his own spin-off show.

While the flagship series ended prematurely with Season 5, partly due to Kevin Costner's (John Dutton) controversial exit, Sheridan has decided to continue the show's legacy with Beth, Rip, and Kayce spin-off series.

Sequel series focusing on Beth-Rip and Kayce Dutton were announced and are also reportedly in production. While it is exciting to see the Yellowstone franchise expand, I believe that there is still one Dutton who deserves his own spin-off, and he is none other than John Dutton.

While Costner exited the show, the parent series also introduced actor Josh Lucas as a young John Dutton, who can easily step into his own spin-off series.

While Yellowstone explored John Dutton's story as a father, it would be exciting to see his beginnings, his life with his wife Evelyn, before the birth of his children. The Dutton patriarch's prequel series has a lot of potential, and fans would surely be invested in seeing more of him.

More on this in our story.

---

Yellowstone: I think John Dutton prequel series has a lot of untapped potential

While Taylor Sheridan's ambitions and passion to expand on the Yellowstone legacy with prequel and sequel spin-off series are commendable, I wonder when/if we will get a John Dutton prequel series.

Considering the success of prequel series like 1883 and 1923, I think a series based on John Dutton's beginnings would be highly successful. Fans loved watching and even appreciated the world-building Sheridan did in the Yellowstone spin-off series, featuring John Dutton's ancestors.

While we saw John Dutton's respect and honour for his family ranch, the prequel series (1883 and 1923) gave much-needed context to the family legacy, and the franchise benefited from Sheridan's excellent world-building.

However, there's still a big piece of the puzzle left to explore- John Dutton in his prime years. While we saw glimpses of the man Kevin Costner played, through Josh Lucas' flashbacks, there's still so much potential in John Dutton's early life.

With Costner's controversial exit from Yellowstone Season 5 and the rushed farewell Sheridan gave to John Dutton, a prequel series would be the perfect way to reintroduce the Dutton patriarch into the franchise.

Fans were surely upset with John Dutton's fate in the series finale, but Costner's rushed exit had little room for an alternative conclusion to his character. However, a prequel series about John Dutton would also give a proper closure to fans, who wanted a different ending for the character.

---

Josh Lucas has proved that he is the perfect young John Dutton in Yellowstone

While Josh Lucas had a big task at hand, he nailed his role as young John Dutton in Yellowstone. While he appeared here and there in seasons 1 and 2, Sheridan had planned elaborate flashbacks with the actor before Costner's premature exit.

This change of plans not only rushed the ending, but we were also robbed of many flashback sequences in season 5. Since the final arc of the show explored the aftermath of John Dutton's assassination and his children's efforts to avenge his death, there was no scope for Josh Lucas to shine as a young John Dutton.

However, the actor has proven his acting prowess in the limited time he got on-screen, and I think he would breathe life into the character in a John Dutton prequel series. In addition, Lucas admires Sheridan's work and has also expressed his desire to work with him again.

In an interview with ScreenRant, the actor even expressed that he is open to playing John Dutton in his own show:

''It [playing Costner] was a crazy almost duality or bipolar reality because obviously John Dutton is a dark, powerful mysterious figure, and I'm basing it all on what Kevin has done, but I also think it's a world that I would absolutely love to explore further.''

Since Lucas' flashbacks did not make it to the Yellowstone final season, a prequel miniseries is the perfect way to explore the character's beginnings.

---

For the latest scoops on your favorite TV shows and movies, follow SoapCentral.

Also Read: Y: Marshals could be a better Yellowstone spin-off than the Beth & Rip series