Kevin Costner is the epitome of the Western genre for many fans. Now, he returns to this genre with the epic “Horizon,” for which there is a first trailer.
The classic “Dances with Wolves” is exemplary of Hollywood star Kevin Costner because it combines two things that the 68-year-old is known for and excels at: directing and playing a gunslinger. Westerns have always been a significant part of his career and undeniably some of his best works, whether it’s “Silverado,” “Dances with Wolves,” “Wyatt Earp: The Life of a Legend,” or “Open Range.” The latter is not only his most recent classic Western but also the last time he directed, despite having an unmistakable sense for the Wild West as a director. You can get the movie on Blu-ray through Amazon.
That was 20 years ago now. Much too long, Costner himself must have thought, and he apparently dug up a very old film idea that he had back in 1988, as he revealed to Deadline:
“I commissioned this story in 1988. One film, two storylines. A conventional Western with a beginning, middle, and end. I couldn’t get anyone to produce it. Then, right after I had finished ‘Open Range,’ and the film did pretty well, I had an opportunity at Disney. We had a $5 million discrepancy. They made a lot of money with ‘Open Range,’ but a $5 million difference kept them from making this film.”
Costner wasn’t discouraged by this. Together with Jon Baird, he continued working on his Western story, and in the end, they had written four scripts for four films. The first script has now been turned into the two-part “Horizon: An American Saga,” in collaboration with Warner Bros., and there is a first teaser trailer for it:
“Horizon: An American Saga”: Kevin Costner’s Passion Project “Horizon: An American Saga” will cover a span of 15 years before and after the American Civil War, which divided the nation between 1861 and 1865. At the heart of this epic saga will be the development of the American West, which is rightfully known as the Wild West in history. As a fan, one can expect that Costner will depict this period in a very dark manner. In an interview with Good Morning America, the filmmaker and actor said that a Western should genuinely instill fear in the audience:
“A Western should actually scare you. You’re sitting in the dark, seeing something, and thinking, ‘That could have happened to me too – and I don’t know what I would have done.'”
Expanding into the West was not a camping trip, after all. Unpaved roads, unforgiving vegetation, along with highwaymen, gangs, and a dangerous wildlife. The unprepared often met their demise with their entire families and treks (via Far Out Magazine):
“The expansion of America into the West was filled with dangers and intrigues: from the elements of nature to interactions with the indigenous people who inhabited the land, and the determination and often ruthlessness of those trying to settle it.”
Costner has not only taken on a leading role in the first two films but has also directed each of them. The cast includes a star-studded lineup with Sienna Miller, Jena Malone, Giovanni Ribisi, Michael Rooker, Sam Worthington, Jeff Fahey, Will Patton, Thomas Haden Church, Luke Wilson, Danny Huston, Isabelle Fuhrman, Dale Dickey, Kathleen Quinlan, and Michael Angarano.
“Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1” premieres in the USA on June 28, 2024, followed by “Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2” on August 16, 2024. The German release dates are likely to be around the same time, but they have not been confirmed yet.
