Yellowstone’s final season cut Josh Lucas’ portrayal short

According to Lucas, Sheridan had plans mapped out to further explore the early life of John Dutton before the show came to an end. However, due to Costner’s exit from the final season, such schemes were unfortunately scuppered. “Taylor told me back before we started shooting the first little pieces that it’s not gonna be much for me in the first couple years,” Lucas explained in an interview with Deadline. “‘It’s going to be in the fifth season. The fifth season is where you’re gonna come in.'” Even then, though, Sheridan (who wrote every episode of “Yellowstone”) didn’t have everything nailed down. “‘I don’t know if we’re gonna do full flashback season or full flashback episodes, but that’s what I can tell you,'” the actor recalled the showrunner explaining

Of course, none of that materialized. Costner — who had a completely different idea for the ending — made an early exit from the show before the second half of the final season aired. Thus, Sheridan was forced to change the plan. Although Lucas appeared in the first half of the fifth season, the character was written out entirely in the second. However, while that ruled out Lucas reprising his role on “Yellowstone” proper, considering Sheridan’s strong interest in exploring the family’s past at the heart of the neo-Western, there may still be room for a prequel tale about how Lucas’ John became the head of the Dutton ranch.