After years of delays, Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan revealed why he will “never” release the long-awaited 6666 spinoff.
“There’s never going to be one. I would never fictionalize that ranch,” Sheridan, 56, said on the Tuesday, August 18, episode of the “Rodeo Time” podcast. “People thought that that was going to be a thing, but I would never do that.”
Sheridan acknowledged past plans to expand the fictional universe.
“I’ve actually got on my computer all the scenes of Jimmy at the 6666 pulled out and strung together, and it makes its own perfect little movie,” he recalled. “You watch him go there as this misfit, and leave as a man and a respected cowboy.”
However, Sheridan has since changed his mind after purchasing the real ranch, adding, “[Producer David Glasser] said, ‘If we buy it, can we make any money from it?’ And I said, ‘No, it’s a ranch — we’re going to lose our ass!’”
Yellowstone, which premiered in 2018, introduced viewers to the fictional Dutton family, who own the largest ranch in Montana. Sheridan later expanded the franchise with prequels 1883 and 1923, in addition to spinoffs Dutton Ranch and Marshals.
Some Yellowstone fans, however, were still waiting for the previously teased 6666 spinoff, which was set to follow Jimmy Hurdstrom (Jefferson White) during his time at the Four Sixes ranch in Texas.
“Founded when Comanches still ruled West Texas, no ranch in America is more steeped in the history of the West than the 6666,” the official series description read. “Still operating as it did two centuries before, and encompassing an entire county, the 6666 is where the rule of law and the laws of nature merge in a place where the most dangerous thing one does is the next thing. … The 6666 is synonymous with the merciless endeavor to raise the finest horses and livestock in the world, and ultimately where world class cowboys are born and made.”
Sheridan, meanwhile, stood by his decision not to profit from “making up lives” and “inventing a drama” at a real place.
“So now I’m trivializing and fictionalizing something where real people work, and they raise their families there, and I could never do that to them,” he continued on the podcast. “I could never do that to the cowboys that dedicated themselves, and everybody that works on that ranch. I’m very protective of the Sixes, and it’s a big responsibility to be the person who has to protect that ranch, so I have to be very, very careful with it.”
Earlier this year, White, 36, gave a rare update when he was asked whether he would still be coming back for 6666, telling the Daily Mail, “Not that I know of now.”
The actor, who originated the role of Jimmy on Yellowstone, said he wasn’t giving up hope.
“I kept my fingers crossed, but also, I’d be grateful if I got to do more and I’m grateful for what I got to do,” he added. “I don’t want to be selfish. We got a lot of great mileage out of that show.”
