The actor will star in Yellowstone spin-off Y: Marshals
Luke Grimes is set to return to the Yellowstone universe once again, this time as the star of his very own spin-off, titled Y: Marshals.
The actor and singer, 41, played Kayce Dutton on the hit Taylor Sheridan western for its five-season run, from 2018-2024, weathering cast drama, an extended hiatus, and its bittersweet conclusion after a long wait for the second part of season five.
“Nobody wanted it to be over,” the actor told People in a new interview centering around the upcoming CBS spin-off and the legacy of the original.
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“I don’t think the fans wanted it to be over. A lot of us actors kind of didn’t want it to be over, and the studio and network certainly didn’t want it to be over,” he added of Yellowstone’s end.
Luke dubbed the end of the show “really hard” for him and everyone involved, and believed that when he filmed the series finale, that was it for his journey with the franchise. “On the last day of shooting, I thought it was my last day as Kayce. It was over to me.”
“It was seven years of playing a person that I’ll never see again, except for having his hat and jacket in my closet. It wasn’t until probably three or four months after that that everything started aligning for the [spinoff].”
© ShutterstockHe called wrapping production “a lot bigger of a life moment than I thought it would be.” Luke added: “To try to put that show away, it was hard. It was really hard, and I know this is going to sound weird, but it was sort of emotional. It was like losing a family in a way.”
Considering Kayce ended the season and series with his “dream” scenario, taking over the Dutton ranch from his father (played by Kevin Costner) before eventually selling it to its rightful owners, the decision to move on was one he could stomach.
© Getty ImagesHowever, when CBS came calling with the offer of a spin-off, he wasn’t convinced. “Where do you go from there?” he mused. The American Sniper star only found himself back in the saddle, so to speak, once he was presented with an idea that he could see both himself and the audience invested in.
“We definitely wanted to make sure to give it a real story and make it interesting and make it believable,” he added. “If it was just like, ‘Well, he’s happy’ — we’re just going to watch him be happy? That’s not very cool. But I’ll say this, the idea that was pitched to me is very, very good and very interesting and it really roped me in and I think it will rope the audience in as well.”
© ShutterstockStill, the actor dubbed his return to the franchise a “really bizarre transition,” adding: “To go back into it in a new set of circumstances is going to be kind of transition [of its own].”
