Harrison Ford explains how his 1923 character is connected to Tim McGraw's character in 1883. Ford plays Jacob Dutton in the Yellowstone prequel series 1923, the older brother of previous Yellowstone spinoff 1883's protagonist James (McGraw). While 1883 chronicled James and his family's grueling quest to the stretch of Montana land they would eventually call home, 1923 sees Jacob seek to hold onto the Dutton homestead, amidst many hardships, for the next generation. While the exact fate of Jacob is currently unknown, Yellowstone proves that his efforts succeed long-term since the Duttons remain on their land for several future generations.
While speaking with Collider, Ford addresses the reasons that his character was able to survive and succeed in furthering the Dutton legacy in 1923, whereas his brother James could not reach the same point in the previous prequel show. Though James made it to Montana and started his new life as a homesteader with his family, he lost his daughter Elsa (Isabel May) as a result of the journey and then died in the year 1893 after being shot by horse thieves. See Ford's explanation as well as a breakdown of James and his wife Margaret's (Faith Hill) fates, revealed in 1923, below:
"I can't conceive of Tim McGraw's character as having failed. I would say that the circumstances overwhelmed him, but it's not a flaw of his character. The same Dutton steel is in Jacob that there was in the character Tim played."
James Dutton's Ending, Explained
While 1923 reveals that James didn't live long enough to truly reap the benefits of what he fought for, Ford's statement that the character didn't necessarily fail in his mission is accurate. There was much that James lost on his journey to Montana, but he did get his remaining family members to their destination, die in his home, and get buried on their land, which is a victory in some ways since he finally had a home for his daughter and later, himself, to be laid to rest in. In addition, James' efforts are what allowed Jacob to continue building out the Dutton empire in 1923 and future generations.
1883 hints that while James managed to secure land for his family in the short-term, the indigenous people that occupied it previously would rise up and take it back from the Duttons in seven generations, after which James proclaimed "you can have it." This interaction could imply that James didn't actually succeed in his mission to provide a lasting sanctuary for his family due to the inevitable tensions that 1883 set up with the indigenous people whose land he settled. However, even if James' actions in 1883 lead to more blood being spilled or the Duttons losing their home in the present-day Yellowstone timeline, James is the reason that the subsequent seven generations of his family had something to lose in the first place.
How Jacob Differs From His Brother James
Ford's comments indicate that his character Jacob and his younger brother James are cut from the same cloth, which is shown to be accurate based on their similar mannerisms and priorities in 1923 and 1883. The pair also differ in a few key ways, including Jacob's even more gruff and guarded exterior, which can be attributed to his knowledge of what his family went through to reach and settle the land that Jacob now maintains. With only one episode of 1923 out so far, it's likely that subsequent episodes of the spinoff, which come out Sundays on Paramount+, will reveal even more differences between Jacob and his late brother.
Source: Collider