Yellowstone Villain Actor Suggests His Character Is Still Alive – Could He Return For Taylor Sheridan’s Spinoff?

Actor Neal McDonough has suggested that his Yellowstone villain character isn’t actually dead, and that he should return for the spinoff. Appearing in Yellowstone season 2, McDonough played Malcolm Beck, one of the Dutton family’s most formidable foes. But though Malcolm was a force, he met his (seeming) bitter end when John Dutton shot him and left him to die in a field.

While Malcolm’s fate looked to be sealed, McDonough has different ideas about what happened to his Yellowstone character, which he revealed to Collider. McDonough was confident in his assertion that Malcolm Beck survived his gunshot wound, saying, “No one actually saw him die.”

The actor then went on to express hope that he could reprise his role as Malcolm in Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone spinoff centered around Beth and Rip. McDonough revealed that Rip actor Cole Hauser is one of his “dearest pals,” and that he would relish the chance for Malcolm to go “toe to toe” with him. Read McDonough’s full comment below:

“Yes, Malcolm Beck is not dead. No one saw him actually die in the field. I would love to see him come back and cause havoc with Rip because Cole Hauser was one of my dearest pals, and there’s nothing I would love more than to go toe to toe with Cole on the show. So, I’m open for that one. Everyone’s got to write in to Taylor saying, ‘Bring Malcolm Beck back!'”

What Malcolm Beck Being Alive Could Mean For The Yellowstone Spinoff

Yellowstone Producer David Glasser Keeps Hiring McDonough, So It Could Happen

Based on McDonough’s rallying cry for fans to write to Taylor Sheridan, it’s clear that the actor isn’t personal friends with the Yellowstone co-creator, and he admitted as much — “I had one five-minute conversation with him once.” But McDonough still has a connection to Sheridan that could see Malcolm brought back.

Sheridan’s Yellowstone producer, David Glasser, apparently admires McDonough’s work, as he personally requested that McDonough appear in his son’s short film, The Writer. McDonough obliged, and when he went to Texas for shooting, his wife, Ruvé McDonough, took the opportunity to bend the producer’s ear about a Malcolm reappearance.

As Neal McDonough tells it, it was through this exchange that got him cast in Tulsa King, another Sheridan show. So, with Glasser casting him in three projects, it’s entirely possible that he’ll heed the McDonoughs’ call for Malcolm to be in Beth and Rip’s Yellowstone spinoff.

In terms of the plausibility of Malcolm’s being alive, anything is possible in the Yellowstone universe. Though the franchise may depict authentic ranching life, John Dutton actor Kevin Costner himself said Yellowstone is a soap opera — and that’s a total compliment. It also means a Malcolm reappearance could be the first big twist in the Yellowstone ​​​​​​spinoff.

Our Take On Malcolm Beck Going Up Against Cole Hauser’s Rip

Neal McDonough Played Yellowstone’s Best Villain — Bring Him Back

Malcolm Beck wasn’t just the most brutal antagonist in Yellowstone — he’s the best villain in any Taylor Sheridan show, period. He and his brother Teal were behind the kidnapping of Kayce and Monica’s son, Tate, and the brutal attack on Beth in one of Yellowstone‘s darkest moments.

This means that, should Malcolm be alive, Beth and Rip would have an intensely personal vendetta against him, which could make McDonough’s wish of facing off against Hauser’s character intensely gripping television. In their own ways, Malcolm and Rip are incredibly violent people, and a feud between them could be the best in Yellowstone history.