‘Yellowstone’ Spinoff Confirms a Major Character’s Death — and Fans Are Reeling

The pilot episode of Marshals—the latest spinoff in the Yellowstone universe—has confirmed that one of the show's characters was killed off-screen.

During the episode, Luke Grimes' character Kayce Dutton visits a grave that's soon revealed to belong to his wife, Monica Dutton. That's right—Kacey Asbille's character was killed off before Marshals could even begin.

Monica Dutton Died From Cancer Between The Two Shows

As Marshals' pilot episode continues, it's revealed that Monica Dutton died between the events of Yellowstone its latest spinoff from cancer. Grimes' protagonist frequently talks about the struggles of becoming a single father, alluding to her illness several times and confirming that it was a long, unpleasant battle.

"I miss you, baby,” Kayce says during his visit to Monica's grave. “I miss my wife—my best friend. My only friend.”

The decision to kill Monica off so unceremoniously has shaken Yellowstone fans, with many viewers confused about why Monica had to die for Kayce's story to continue. Thankfully, showrunner Spencer Hudnut has all the answers.

In a new interview with THR, Hudnut confirmed that Monica's death was a consequence of Kacey Asbille being unavailable to film the spinoff show. "It wasn’t like Luke [Grimes] and I were sitting there saying, ‘We should kill Monica,’” he explained. "It was more like, ‘If she’s not available for this, then what’s the best way to move on from that character in the least exploitive way?"

For Hudnut, "moving on" from Monica meant giving her a quiet death that furthers Kayce's own story. "My goal was to not undermine that journey in Yellowstone because they do have [the dream]—she says, ‘This is a dream come true’ at the end of it,” Spencer explained. “They did achieve that. They did get what they finally wanted, and, unfortunately, life just intervened and disrupted everything that Kayce wanted.”

Fans were understandably taken aback by the decision to get rid of Monica so permanently, even though it had previously been reported that Asbille wouldn't be returning for the spin-off project.

"Disgusting what the writers did to Monica and Kayce's story," one fan wrote on X. "They had already been through so much."

"Did they kill off Monica?!" exlcaimed another.

To figure out exactly how Keyce's story unfolds now that Monica isn't around, fans will have to tune into Marshals' weekly episodes, which air on CBS every Sunday at 8 p.m. ET. Watch the series trailer below.