6 questions we have about '1923' after watching the new trailer for the 'Yellowstone' prequel series

  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • The trailer for the prequel series "1923" aired during Sunday night's episode of "Yellowstone."

  • The latest installment of the Dutton origin story introduces a new generation led by Harrison Ford.

  • We've broken down all the major moments from the trailer and what they could possibly mean.

How important is Helen Mirren's character's backstory?

Helen Mirren as Cara Dutton in the trailer for "1923."
Helen Mirren as Cara Dutton in the trailer for "1923."Paramount Network

This trailer is the first we've had which features dialogue from the characters, so we were a little surprised to find that Mirren's character has an accent — specifically, an Irish accent. It adds a whole other dimension to Cara Dutton, the wife of cattle rancher Jacob (Harrison Ford).

Speaking to Vanity Fair earlier this month, Mirren spoke about the decision to make Cara an "immigrant."

The Oscar winner said: "One of the things I very strongly wanted was that she would speak with an Irish accent, not with an American accent. It's always slightly annoyed me with Westerns that you have all these people speaking with modern American accents when in fact so many of them were fairly recent immigrants."

Viewers recall the arduous and sometimes heartbreaking journey to settle in America that the German immigrants took in "1883" and so we wonder how much – if at all – Cara's own immigrant story will play a part in "1923."

Are the Duttons living in the same house that John lives in, in "Yellowstone?"

The Dutton family home in the "1923" trailer.
The Dutton family home in the trailer for "1923."Paramount Network

At several points in the trailer, we get a glimpse of the ranch that Jacob's brother James (played by Tim McGraw in "1883") began building some 40 years earlier when he and his wife Margaret (played by Faith Hill in "1883") decided to settle in Montana following the death of their daughter Elsa (played by Isobel May in "1883").

We even see the exterior of the Dutton's log mansion, and it's unmistakably the same building that is used for John's abode on "Yellowstone." So does that mean the Duttons have resided in the same property since the early 20th century and never rebuilt it?

Given that the real log cabin which doubles for the Dutton house, the Chief Joseph Ranch in Darby, Montana, was built in 1914, it's not such a crazy concept, but it is still wild to see the ranch viewers associate with John, Beth, and Rip, transported back in time.

 

How will the Duttons stop Timothy Dalton's character Donald Whitfield from taking over their land?

Timothy Dalton as Donald Whitfield in the "1923" trailer.
Timothy Dalton as Donald Whitfield in the trailer for "1923."Paramount Network

Deadline confirmed at the time of his casting that the "Licence to Kill" actor will portray Donald Whitfield, a powerful, self-confident man who acquires the neighboring ranch to the Duttons and sets his eyes on Yellowstone.

"He is intimidating and nefarious and is used to getting what he wants," his character bio reads, and from the trailer, it looks like he — along with his righthand man Banner Creighton (Jermone Flynn) — will stop at nothing to get their hands on the Yellowstone ranch land.

"I want the whole valley," he says at one point in the trailer, and it looks like the fight over the ranch will be a central storyline in the season, leading us to wonder what lengths the Duttons will go to stop him.

Talking of feuds, is Teonna Rainwater one of Thomas Rainwater's ancestors?

Aminah Nieves as Teonna Rainwater in the "1923" trailer.
Aminah Nieves as Teonna Rainwater in the trailer for "1923."Paramount Network

The trailer shows a young Native American girl being pulled out of school by someone who appears to be from the tribe. "Are you Teonna Rainwater?" he asks. In the next shot, he extends a hand to her, and they mount a horse together before following a herd of sheep through a rocky ravine.

Is Teonna perhaps the only living ancestor of Thomas Rainwater's (Gil Birmingham) in "1923," meaning that only she can be the one to fight Jacob and his family over the land which he has claimed for his ranch?

"Yellowstone" viewers know that the Duttons' have a longstanding feud with the Broken Rock Indian Reservation, and we can't wait to learn more about its complex origins.

Which Dutton family member dies and how?

The Dutton family graveyard in the "1923" trailer.
The Dutton family graveyard in the trailer for "1923."Paramount Network

It's a blink-and-you-miss-it moment just halfway through the trailer, but it looks like one of the new Duttons will sadly be meeting their maker before the first season of "1923" is over.

As audiences know, only members of the Dutton family are buried on the ranch's land, and next to the three graves, which appear to belong to James, Margaret, and Elsa Dutton (the name "Elsa" is just visible on the middle headstone), a fourth can be seen. It's marked with a wooden cross rather than a tombstone, which suggests that it's a recent death compared to the others.

Someone who appears to be a woman is crouched down by the grave, but it's not clear who it is, meaning that we can't rule any of the Duttons. Rather ominously, the shot of the Dutton family graveyard is immediately followed by Cara remarking: "Greed will be the thing that kills us all."

Lastly, how, where, when, and why does a lion come into the story?

A shot of a lion in the "1923" trailer.
A shot of a lion in the trailer for "1923."Paramount Network

The trailer, which comes in at just under two minutes, really does leave us wanting more by ending on what is a truly unexpected shot: a lion bounding towards viewers.

Now, a quick Google search does say that mountain lions can be found in Montana, but this feline looks decidedly different from those kinds, leading us to believe that this scene must be plucked from the overseas jaunt teased earlier in the trailer.

A shot of a luxury ship, an imposing white mansion, and a safari camp lead us to believe that one of the Duttons will find themselves spending time in an African country — but what are they doing there, and what leads them to come face-to-face with a ferocious lion?

"1923" premieres on Paramount+ on December 18.

Read the original article on Insider