This weekend, the world will witness Indiana Jones swap his fedora for a cowboy hat. Harrison Ford will make his Sheridan universe debut in 1923, premiering Dec. 18th exclusively on Paramount+. The series marks the second Yellowstone spinoff since last year's Sam Elliott-led 1883. Ford and Academy Award-winning Helen Mirren star as ancestral Duttons in the new Western drama, which sees the family battle droughts and the beginnings of the Great Depression in Montana.
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Ford has been a movie star for nearly half a century. (I mean, hello? Han Solo?) It doesn't get much bigger than him. And yet, the larger-than-life Hollywood figure is swapping the silver for the small screen in a television show straight to streaming, joining a franchise that boasts many other projects and many other players. How did the legendary actor find working with Yellowstone mastermind Taylor Sheridan? He didn't hold back in his praise for the prolific producer.
"Taylor Sheridan is certainly one of those people that is the most extraordinary talents of our current time," Ford said in a new interview with Fox News. "And I'm having a really good time doing this."
The 80-year-old will play Jacob Dutton, the brother of Tim McGraw's James Dutton — who appeared in the first Yellowstone prequel series, 1883. (Here's a helpful Dutton family tree for your pre-show preparations.) According to the show's official description, Jacob is in for a characteristically wild ride on the ranch at a time when "pandemics, historic drought, the end of Prohibition and the Great Depression all plague the mountain west and the Duttons who call it home."
One of those Duttons is another big-screen legend, Dame Helen Mirren, who will portray Jacob's wife, Cara. Mirren's fabulous Irish accent made waves when the trailer for the series dropped.
Ford cites Mirren's casting as one of the "real draws" of signing on to the show. The two had worked together decades ago, on the 1986 adventure thriller, The Mosquito Coast.
What's shaped up to be a big-budget series fronted by critically-acclaimed performers started out as just an idea — another brainchild of the seemingly always-on creator, producer and writer Taylor Sheridan. (The guy's got a ton of other Yellowstone spinoffs coming down the pike.)
To Sheridan's credit, Ford hadn't even seen a script when he agreed to star in the show, saying that he was sold on the project when Sheridan pitched the idea to him. If that's not a good harbinger for the series, I don't know what is.
.@lamonicagarrett hosts @1923Official: Inside the Series, a special exploration of Taylor Sheridan's latest installment of the @Yellowstone saga on #ParamountPlus.
Watch now: https://t.co/b5aP8N2m3i pic.twitter.com/5XiXCCotdL
— Paramount+ (@paramountplus) December 16, 2022
All's fair in love and war in the Yellowstone universe, and, by the looks of the trailer, Ford and Mirren are about to get their very, very dirty. Prepare the popcorn and the (I'm assuming) Irish whiskey, and cheers to another feather in the cap of a couple of cultural icons. Their time in the sun is far from over and we're totally here for it.
1923 premieres Dec. 18 exclusively on Paramount+
READ MORE: Taylor Sheridan's 'Wind River' Sequel 'The Next Chapter' to Begin Production in 2023
