If Luke Grimes had followed his first instinct, Kayce Dutton’s story would have ended right where Yellowstone left it.
That’s what the actor recently revealed during an appearance on CBS Mornings, where he spoke with host Gayle King about stepping back into the boots of the youngest Dutton brother for the newly released spinoff, Marshals.
King brought up the surprising detail right away, noting that Grimes initially wasn’t sold on continuing Kayce’s story. According to the actor, that hesitation mostly came down to timing—because when the idea of a spinoff first came up, he was still filming the final episode of Yellowstone.
“When they brought it up to me, I was filming the last episode of Yellowstone, the original show,” Grimes explained. “I just loved the ending. I thought it ended perfect for Kayce, and there's something about while we're shooting that, to think about the next chapter, and it sort of just didn't make any sense to me.”
At the time, Kayce’s storyline had (finally!) reached a turning point for the better. After years of conflict tied to the Dutton Ranch and the long-running tensions surrounding the land, the character seemed to finally find some peace with his wife Monica and their son Tate. For Grimes, that resolution felt like a natural stopping place.
But things shifted a few months later after he spoke with Taylor Sheridan, the writer and producer behind the entire Yellowstone universe. Sheridan encouraged him to meet with the spinoff’s new showrunner and hear the concept before making a decision.
“He said, ‘I think you should meet Spencer, our new showrunner,’” Grimes recalled. “He's like, ‘Look, man, I talked to him. I really liked him. I'm not gonna tell you what to do, but I liked his ideas, and I think you should hear him out.’”
That conversation opened the door—and the rest, as they say, is history!
“Taylor was right,” Grimes said. “I think he had a great idea, and I thought, man, there's a lot of story to tell there.”
By that point, Grimes’ personal life had also changed in a big way. The actor had just welcomed a son, which gave him a different perspective on returning to the role.
“This was a few months later when I finally talked to Spencer,” he said. “I'd had my son at that point, and I thought, look, it's about him now, and I love playing Kayce, so why not do it for a few more years?”
For viewers who followed Kayce from the early days of the Dutton family drama to the show’s emotional ending, that decision means the character’s journey is far from over. And in the ever expanding world of Yellowstone, that leaves plenty of room for a new chapter!
