Move Over Kevin Costner, Beth and Rip’s ‘Yellowstone’ Spin-Off Is Already Setting Up the New John Dutton

Now that Yellowstone is over, there are a few sequel spin-offs in the works that will continue Taylor Sheridan‘s neo-Western epic apart from the flagship series. Of them, the upcoming Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser)/Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) series, currently rumored to be titled Yellowstone: Dutton Ranch, is among the most-anticipated. In the impromptu Season 5 finale, “Life Is a Promise,” Rip and Beth move away from Montana’s Paradise Valley to the Western part of the state just outside of Dillon. But with Kevin Costner no longer leading the charge of the franchise, there is only one character who could possibly replace him as the next “John Dutton,” so to speak. Believe it or not, we’re talking about Rip and Beth’s surrogate son, Carter, played by Finn Little.

Carter Was Immediately Inspired by Kevin Costner’s John Dutton

Carter was first introduced in Season 4 of Yellowstone and quickly made an impact on the series. While it’s clear that Beth wants Carter to be the son she could never have after being unknowingly sterilized in her youth (and she certainly sees the similarities between the boy and Rip when he was that age), she struggles to treat him properly at first. It’s a strange situation, to be sure, but after Rip encourages Beth to put the boy to work, Carter grows a simple fondness for the ranch life. More than that, when he encounters John Dutton, he gets a glimpse of what his future could entail. “I know what I want to be when I grow up,” Carter explains to one of the ranch hands in Season 4’s aptly titled “I Want to Be Him.” You can guess his answer. When John is mercilessly assassinated in Season 5, Carter takes the loss pretty hard, believing that John Dutton was a man untouched by the rest of the world. With this harrowing realization, he continues to live on for his surrogate parents, and makes his own mistakes throughout the rest of the series.

But what makes Carter perfect to be the next John Dutton compared to, say, Tate Dutton (Brecken Merrill), the son of Monica (Kelsey Asbille) and Kayce (Luke Grimes)? Well, for one thing, although Tate had a special relationship with John as his first grandchild and often showed an interest in the cowboy way of life, Tate is a lot like his father in that he’s largely directionless (something the Kayce spin-off needs to change). He doesn’t quite know what he wants, and that’s part of the reason that Kayce was never the right fit to take over the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch long-term. By comparison, Carter seems quite capable and willing to do for the Dutton legacy what his surrogate cousin couldn’t. Much like Rip, his loyalty is to the Dutton brand and to John in particular. That will go a long way in him becoming the “next in line” to carry on the mantle, even if there is no Yellowstone left to lord over.

With No Yellowstone Dutton Ranch, Carter Can Create His Own Cattle Empire

Although the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch is no more, Rip and Beth have carved their own piece of Montana out for themselves further west, away from the growing world that is Paradise Valley. This is the part of Montana that has yet to be touched on the same scale as Bozeman or Big Sky by growing numbers of tourists and corporations/businesses looking to put down roots beside Paradise Valley, and Yellowstone National Park itself. While Carter may not be able to lord over a ranching empire the size of Rhode Island the way that Costner’s Dutton patriarch had (at least, not any time soon), the franchise is clearly pushing him to be the next cog in the Yellowstone machine. Starting out small is exactly what James (Tim McGraw) and Margaret Dutton (Faith Hill) did when they first moved to Montana from Texas in 1883, and it’s that same pioneering spirit that lives on in Carter now.

Being raised by both Rip and Beth will no doubt make Carter tough-as-nails, and a formidable rancher to be reckoned with. From Rip, he’ll learn the same ranching techniques that John once taught Rip years ago. He’ll understand all the intricacies of cattle, taking care of the land, and the other basics necessary for a cattle king. But from Beth, Carter will learn to become a shrewd businessman, and will likely learn the legal side of the business in a way that John never quite could. In this way, he may grow up to be a superior rancher compared to his surrogate grandfather. Now that John is dead, his memory will likely spur the young rancher to do just that — especially if tragedy continues to strike.

The Beth and Rip ‘Yellowstone’ Spin-Off Will No Doubt Continue Carter’s Story

As mentioned before, Carter won’t have the same sort of resources to work with that the Duttons did for over a century. The land is no longer theirs, and from what we can see at the end of Season 5’s finale, “Life Is a Promise,” the space that Rip and Carter have to work with is far more limited in size and scope. Still, that doesn’t mean that Carter won’t be able to use the Dutton brand to his advantage. If the Rip/Beth-led spin-off really is titled Dutton Ranch, it seems like the pair will be relaunching the family brand, and with Carter learning the ropes himself, it will be the perfect time to reveal himself as the next Dutton in line. Sure, he may not be blood, but he’s just as family as anyone else.

What’s especially interesting about the prospect of Carter being involved in Beth and Rip’s next ranching venture is that, because it’s just Rip and Carter doing the work at the moment, we may be able to get more from the character than we got on the show. Season 5 was so bogged down by being labeled as “the final season” of Yellowstone that far too many characters got pushed to the wayside. Carter didn’t have much to do in Season 5A, and his biggest contribution to Season 5B was the death of Colby Mayfield (Denim Richards), which was simply terrible to watch. No doubt, Carter learned a lot from that ordeal, and it will certainly help him to become a better cowboy going into this new spin-off show. From what we can tell, the fewer main cast members the better, in this case.