Yellowstone’s most expensive cast member’s gone missing – and it’s not Kevin Costner

Taylor Sheridan’s ranch drama includes a couple of famous faces, but one of the most expensive parts of Yellowstone has seemingly disappeared.

Although the Duttons might seem like the pinnacle of wealth, it’s mentioned multiple times that they’re actually pretty broke. Buying millions of dollars’ worth of horses and not making much profit on the Dutton Ranch has lost John some cash over the years.

All this is probably why we’ve lost one of the ranch’s most iconic staples: the Dutton helicopter. It appeared frequently throughout Season 1, ferrying the family from location to location at the drop of a hat. Wearing the ranch brand, it was a symbol of their power and status.

But post-Season 1, the helicopter has made little to no appearances, and Yellowstone fans have noticed.

Paramount

“What happened to the Dutton helicopter?,” said one Reddit user. “I’ve thought about this for while and am just now reminded as I restarted the show but what ever happened to their helicopter, like it just disappears.

“Wouldn’t be surprised that it was sold or something, but I don’t remember any mention of the fact and just always wondered because that’s a pretty nice asset to have.”

Based on what we know about the Duttons, it seems obvious that the reason behind the disappearance is likely due to their debt.

“I’m guessing sold off-screen because of finances,” one comment guessed, while another added: “I mean, both Jaime and Beth mention having to sell off a lot of assets just to pay the bills. I wouldn’t be surprised if that was one of them.”

So, the Dutton family might have made some cutbacks in the interest of saving the ranch. But off-screen finances might have something to do with it too, with Taylor Sheridan and co. likely writing it out of the story to save some budget.

“I realized it was gone too and thought it was probably too expensive to keep filming episodes with it,” one user pointed out. “Maybe they rented it for the first seasons then stopped or had to sell it and decided to just act like it never existed.”

Another agreed: “Not really a story reason, but I assume it was expensive to run. Also they probably couldn’t film in such tight quarters during Covid.”

Here’s hoping Yellowstone Season 5 Part 2 will bring the Duttons back some of their swag when it arrives on November 10.

Until then, check out our guides to other Yellowstone shows, like 6666, 1923 Season 2, and The Madison. Don’t miss all the new TV shows arriving this month, too.