Warning! This story contains spoilers for 1923 Season 2. You can watch the series in full with a Paramount+ subscription.
When 1923 came to a close on the 2025 TV schedule, we got a pretty definitive end to this chapter in the Duttons’ story. We also got a great set up for what could be the next upcoming Yellowstone show, 1944. So, I had to ask Michelle Randolph and Darren Mann about how they could potentially be involved in this next project, seeing as it will likely follow their direct descendants, and I hope Taylor Sheridan is taking notes.
Even Though Jack Is Dead, Darren Mann Has An Idea For How He Could Be In 1944
Now, this story starts at the very end of my interview with Darren Mann about 1923’s lethal sixth episode. After seeing Jack Dutton tragically die, I told the actor who plays him that I was “sincerely bummed” he was gone. I also joked that I’d like to see him “come back as a ghost or something.” In response, he told me:
No one better person to play Jack's son in 1944 than Jack.
Now, while we were laughing about this, I actually kind of love the idea. Let’s not forget that the cast confirmed that Spencer and Alex’s son John might not be the grandfather of Kevin Costner’s John in Yellowstone. Elizabeth was also pregnant, and it’s fully possible that she had a son named John, too. And you know what? Darren Mann would be the perfect person to play him if this is indeed the case.
Jack is dead, so he can’t play him. So, why can’t he play his kid?
Michelle Randolph Is Ready To Play An Older Elizabeth In 1944
Michelle Randolph is in a slightly different position than her on-screen husband. Elizabeth survived a brutal 1923 winter and the battle in the finale, so, in theory, she could come back in 1944.
While Elizabeth did leave the ranch after Jack’s death, I could see a future where she returns. So, after my conversation with Mann, I told Randolph what he said and asked if she wanted to reprise her role in 1944 or if she had actresses in mind who could do it. In response, she said:
I mean, obviously, I want to play Elizabeth. That's hysterical that Darren said that. I mean, of course, there's actresses that I idolize that I would love to play the older me. But I want to play Elizabeth more than them. Put prosthetics on me.
In 1923, Elizabeth and Jack are young and newly married. It’s also revealed that Spencer, Jack’s uncle, lived until 1969. That implies that Elizabeth could also live on for decades after the events of 1923 and return in 1944 as her character, who would likely be in her 40s.
So, it’d probably be quite easy to have Randolph reprise the role and wear a few prosthetics.
While thinking about this, I considered how Mandy Moore played Rebecca through her entire life in This is Us with great success and prosthetics. I could totally see the Yellowstone universe doing something like this, too, especially if the cast is down for it, and Randolph clearly is.
Overall, this all seems very possible, too. For example, 1944 could have some serious character overlap with 1923 because of folks like Spencer and maybe Elizabeth. Plus, there are plenty of ways to bring other actors back, too. As Daren Mann said, he could play a new character. Also, Isabel May proved this by doing voice-over as Elsa in 1923 and Yellowstone following her death in 1883.
So, Taylor Sheridan, let’s get these actors back in the Yellowstone universe, please, and thank you.
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