“I was fired up about it”: Taylor Sheridan Almost Introduced a Mystery Dutton to Kevin Costner Led Drama That Was Thankfully Scrapped

Taylor Sheridan has proven one too many times that he is nothing short of a mastermind through all the brilliant decisions he took and plotlines he created for his iconic Western television series franchise. However, one of his decisions for the Kevin Costner-led Yellowstone lore just might have ended up backfiring at him had he gone forward with the idea.

As it turns out, this surprising decision was to introduce yet another member to the already thriving Dutton family, though this one would have been a mysterious addition, according to reports from the actor who claims to have scored the gig. But that idea was reportedly scrapped along with the show’s sixth season, and thankfully so.

Taylor Sheridan Reportedly Wanted to Introduce a Mystery Dutton to Yellowstone

The Dutton family in the Kevin Costner-led saga, as fans have come to see and love them, is perfect just the way it is, even with all the chaos and drama that ensues in the family. However, had the studios continued with a sixth season for the series, all of this would have changed majorly.

This is because the show is reported to have had someone in mind to introduce in season 6.

As shared by the Taste of Country, Cory Asbury, the 38-year-old American Christian musician cum worship pastor cum songwriter and former member of the Bethel Music collective was supposed to be this additional mysterious Dutton family member.

According to what Asbury told Taste of Country in a live Q&A session on Instagram:

I was fired up about it and so bummed when it was canceled. So bummed.

So Taylor Sheridan actually did plan on doing something like this? Seems like it, because Asbury even shared the same on Instagram.

Via his Instagram handle @coryasbury, the Christian musician shared the same during a Q&A session on his story in July 2023, when a fan asked him if he would “ever consider being in a movie.” Adding two teary-eyed emojis, he wrote:

Got asked to be in season 6 of Yellowstone then they canceled it.

Even that’s not all: During his interview with Taste of Country, he even shared what role he had reportedly been brought on board the Yellowstone lore for.

As shared by @tasteofcountry on Instagram:

I was supposed to be Kayce’s long-lost brother. We were gonna move to Montana for a full year. We were ready … Anna (Asbury’s wife) gave me the OK and our kids were like, ‘OK, cool, we’ll live in Montana.’

However, much to their disappointment, the call to meet with Luke Grimes and showrunner Sheridan never came, and then the sixth season was canceled, so his casting into the smash-hit show kind of ended up being for nothing as well.

At the same time, it was only for the better that this decision from Sheridan got scrapped, for a reason all too understandable to the fans.

Nonetheless, Cory Asbury’s Casting Cancelation was Only for the Best

Although Asbury would have, undoubtedly, done an excellent job at playing another cowboy for the Dutton family, giving off those perfect Westernly ranch-y vibes, the inclusion of yet another Dutton character that nobody knows would have set up quite a few barriers to the show’s success.

First off, if the claims from the Christian songwriter are true, then this would have meant that Costner’s John Dutton and his wife actually put up one of their kids for adoption, which would have been Asbury’s character.

If not, then the other possible explanation could have been that John actually had this mysterious Dutton kid with a different woman, which would have made Asbury’s character a half-brother to the other younger Duttons, and further messed up the storyline.

All in all, we don’t know what Sheridan and the other members behind the lens must have been thinking while deriving this idea, but whatever it was, it would have ended up making his show seem like a real soap opera, which would have inevitably driven away a lot of fans.

That being said, it was only for the better that Asbury didn’t join Costner’s saga like this. Still, it doesn’t clear all the chances for the musician to star in a show he is a fan of, because, with Sheridan’s brilliant mind, he holds the chances of finding a better place in one of the spin-offs.

Until that happens, you can stream Yellowstone on Peacock.