Harrison Ford Addresses His Yellowstone Future After 1923

When the "Yellowstone" prequel series "1923" concluded its second season last month, fans felt fairly certain that they'd probably seen the last of Harrison Ford's Jacob Dutton and Helen Mirren's Cara Dutton. This isn't because the season ended with their deaths (as Mirren, while participating in a For Your Consideration Q&A last weekend, said she'd expected). Not only did Jacob and Cara survive to the end of the final episode, but they also found themselves left to care for the newborn son of Alexandra Dutton (Julia Schlaepfer), who died after giving birth. Given that the son's name is John, many viewers feel it's safe to assume that the forthcoming prequel series "1944" will revolve around a 19-year-old John Dutton II.

There is, however, some uncertainty at the moment, if only because Taylor Sheridan and Paramount have yet to confirm that "1923" is indeed finished after season 2. Also clouding the "Yellowstone" picture is the status of "1944," which hasn't even been cast yet. Thus far, there's been no reason to believe that "1944" might get delayed or skipped altogether, and it's certainly possible that the wildly prolific Sheridan is simply too busy writing the scripts for his other active shows to deal with the next prequel chapter of "Yellowstone." But there's also the simple fact that, regardless of what they thought about the series overall, fans really loved spending time with Jacob and Cara. So, if Ford and Mirren were to say they'd be open to saddling up for one more season, why wouldn't Sheridan and Paramount move forward with another go-round featuring these two showbiz legends?

Is Ford down to play Jacob again? You better believe he is.

During that aforementioned Q&A (as was covered by The Hollywood Reporter), Ford showered Sheridan with praise for ending the second season on such an emotionally satisfying note. After calling the finale "fantastic," Ford added, "I thought it was very tight storytelling and I was absolutely delighted with it. It's probably the densest script and work that I've had a chance to work on in a long, long time."

For Ford, playing Jacob gave him the rare chance to portray a man with a decidedly dark past. As he told the audience, "I thought it was an opportunity to really invest in a very complicated characterization, because this is not a hero. This is a complicated man who does some bad s*** and then goes on with his life. And I think that's a very interesting kind of character to play, and not one that frequently comes my way."

So, how does Ford feel about returning as Jacob in a flashback on "1944" or another season of "1923" (which would probably have to be retitled "1924")? "I'm still alive," Ford joked, adding that he'd return provided Sheridan "asks nice." Ford then clarified that he has no idea what Sheridan plans to do with his corner of the "Yellowstone" franchise going forward.

There you have it, "Yellowstone" fans. Ford is willing to come back if Sheridan is able to find more dramatically compelling business for his character. We'll just have to wait and see how this plays out.