I’ve Found a Taylor Sheridan Movie That’s a Must-See for ‘Yellowstone’ Fans [Watch]

Yellowstone is coming to an end after the Season 5 finale on Sunday (Dec. 15), but fans can still get their fix with an early movie from creator Taylor Sheridan that features so many familiar faces, it's almost like a precursor to the beloved show.

Sheridan wrote and directed Wind River, which he released in 2017, one year before Yellowstone premiered in 2018. The film features many of the same actors and story themes as the runaway hit show, and die-hard Yellowstone fans will almost certainly love it.

The film takes place at the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming, where a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agent named Cory Lambert (Jeremy Renner, who now stars in Sheridan's Mayor of Kingstown) discovers the body of an 18-year-old indigenous girl named Natalie Hanson in the snow.

She has been sexually assaulted, and in the investigation that follows, in which he assists an inexperienced FBI agent named Jane Banner (Elizabeth Olsen), it's revealed that Hanson was assaulted by men working on a nearby oil rig along with her boyfriend, who also worked there. She fled barefoot through the night in wintery conditions, resulting in her death.

Sheridan was drawn to the subject matter after reading about how many indigenous women are sexually assaulted and murdered and how often those crimes can not only go unsolved, but are essentially left uninvestigated due to the lack of resources and legal standing on reservation lands.

It's a variation on themes he's returned to again and again on Yellowstone,  which often explores the uneasy relations between indigenous people forced into a multi-generational settlement on reservation lands and those whose lands border them.

In addition to resembling much of the same tone of the hit show, Wind River is set amid the same kind of natural splendor as Yellowstone, and the juxtaposition of nature's beauty and simultaneous unsparing harshness is another common theme.

Yellowstone fans will be quick to recognize a number of familiar faces in the cast of Wind River, too. Kelsey Asbille — who plays Monica Dutton on Yellowstone — plays Natalie Hanson, and Gil Birmingham (Yellowstone's Chief Thomas Rainwater) plays her father, Martin Hanson.

Other future Yellowstone actors who appear in Wind River include Hugh Dillon (Donnie Haskell), Ian Bohen (Ryan), Martin Sensmeier (Monica's physical therapist, Martin) and James Jordan, who has gone on to play roles on Yellowstone, Lioness, Landman and more.

Wind River spent some time in the Top 5 on Netflix in 2021, years after its initial release, and it's currently available across various streaming platforms.

Yellowstone has become the most-watched show on cable television since it debuted in 2018, and its success has spawned multiple spinoffs, including 1883 and 1923, both of which are huge hits in their own right.

Paramount has announced an upcoming Yellowstone sequel titled The Madison, which stars Michelle Pfeiffer, former Suits star Patrick J. Adams and former Lost star Matthew Fox.

Deadline reports that Yellowstone stars Cole Hauser (Rip Wheeler) and Kelly Reilly (Beth Dutton) have signed on to continue their roles in another Yellowstone sequel, with no further details yet available. Paramount has not confirmed that reporting.

Sheridan is also reportedly working on another Yellowstone prequel titled 1944, but has shared no information about the show.

The final episode of Yellowstone is set to air on Paramount Network on Sunday evening beginning at 8PM ET.

Sterling Whitaker is a Senior Writer and Senior Editor for Taste of Country. He focuses on celebrity real estate, as well as coverage of Yellowstone and related shows like 1883 and 1923. He's interviewed cast members including Cole Hauser, Kelly Reilly, Sam Elliott and Harrison Ford, and Whitaker is also known for his in-depth interviews with country legends including Don Henley, Rodney Crowell, Trace Adkins, Ronnie Milsap, Ricky Skaggs and more.