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Horizon: An American Saga

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Horizon: An American Saga
Film series logo
Starring
Production
company
Territory Pictures
Distributed byNew Line Cinema (through Warner Bros. Pictures)
Release date
2024–present
Running time
  • 181 minutes (Chapter 1)
  • 190 minutes (Chapter 2)
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$100 million (2 films)

Horizon: An American Saga is a film series of four planned American epic westerns. It is directed, co-written, produced by, and starring Kevin Costner, from a script he co-wrote with Jon Baird and based on an original story co-written by Costner, Baird, and Mark Kasdan. The plot centers on fictional characters and takes place in pre- and post-Civil War America, and details the exploration of the American West. Depicting a twelve-year span, the films feature an ensemble cast portraying various characters and their experiences pioneering into new territory from their homes.

Development

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Kevin Costner began developing the script for the film series in 1988, which he based on his personal belief that its viewers should be inspired by the true history of America in the Old West.[1] Over the years, Costner continued to develop the script from originally co-starring two lead actors to featuring a complete ensemble cast.[2] Costner explained that by further expanding the script into a series of four individual movies, he wanted to accurately depict a 12-year history of the United States, including the impact of the American Civil War, and drawing an audience into the movie-going experience.[1] Costner explained that the plot depicts the experiences of Native Americans, when immigrant settlers moved into their territory with a justification that they had paid European salesmen for the land.[3]

In 2003, Costner negotiated production with The Walt Disney Company. During pre-production, however, he discovered that the studio lacked his required production budget, so he abandoned the Disney brand. In 2014, he expanded the series into a trilogy.[4] Development continued over the years, until Costner collaborated with Jon Baird on the script in 2012 where it developed into four separate movies;[2] the contents and story of which would intentionally be darker than his previous westerns.[3] Lacking major production studio initial involvement, Costner invested $38 million of his own money into the budget with additional funding supplied by two unnamed investors, and became determined to begin production as quickly as possible.[2] In May 2024, Costner confirmed that the Horizon film series will be at least four installments, while explaining that the production and release schedule of the first two movies was in part due to his personal desire to see the script realized in his lifetime.[5] He wanted to ensure that his son Hayes could play the character he had written for him, before outgrowing the part.[2] Later, Costner detailed the various events in his life which had delayed the realization of the movies, including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cinema, the death of his parents in 2021, scheduling conflicts including a contract dispute with Paramount Pictures and Taylor Sheridan on the final season of Yellowstone, a divorce with Christine Baumgartner, and the writers'/actors' strikes of 2023. He was determined to "work...to get this thing finished".[2]

Contrary to some reports, Costner rejected the idea that the development of the film series directly influenced his departure from the Yellowstone television series. He explained that the final season had been restructured multiple times and was subjected to various production delays, which conflicted with the production schedule on the prioritized film series. Citing an example with the lack of completed scripts for a last season which would be split into two separate parts, Costner stated that he is open to completing additional photography to finish his role in the series. However, the filmmaker stated that when rewrites for the show were ongoing, he allowed Sheridan to read the script for the Horizon movies with hopes that it could inspire, while previously offering to provide assistance in writing his character out of Yellowstone in a climatic death scene. He reportedly offered to give some time off from his movie production schedule to do so, but these options have never materialized.[2]

When addressing the various festival debuts of each installment (Cannes Film Festival for Chapter 1, and Venice Film Festival for Chapter 2), Costner expressed interest in returning to Cannes for Chapter 3.[5] He later explained plans for additional monetary gains through licensing the series every several years through streaming and home video, regardless of their box office performance.[5] Working with Warner Bros., plans are for each chapter to be released four to six months after the previous installment.[4] The filmmaker later stated that he developed the series of films, with the quality of classic westerns in mind,[6][7] and though he has considered developing additional sequels set during contemporary times, Costner determined that the series will end with Chapter 4;[4] expressing hopes that families will go to theaters together to view each installment upon their release.[6][7]

Films

[edit]
Film Release date Director Screenwriters Story by Producers Status
Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 June 28, 2024 (2024-06-28) Kevin Costner Jon Baird & Kevin Costner Jon Baird, Mark Kasdan & Kevin Costner Mark Gillard, Kevin Costner & Howard Kaplan Released
Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2 TBA Completed
Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 3 TBA Filming
Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 4 TBA In development

Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 (2024)

[edit]
Main article: Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1

In January 2022, it was announced that Kevin Costner would direct his fourth feature film, from a script he co-wrote with Jon Baird. Costner is producer, with principal photography scheduled in August 2022 in Utah. This is a joint-venture production between Territory Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures, and New Line Cinema,[8] and Warner Bros. is distributor.[9] In June 2022, he stated that filming in the state has long been his goal, with scouting in the state already having taken place.[10] Later that month, Costner revealed that his project had evolved into four "different films that all connect, so you're watching a saga of [...] storylines". Production was in the casting phase of pre-production, with photography scheduled to start later that year. Each movie is intended to be 2 hours and 45 minutes in length, and Costner stated that once all the movies are released, they will be compiled and re-released as a miniseries on television.[11][12]

Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, Jamie Campbell Bower, Luke Wilson, Thomas Haden Church, Jena Malone, Alejandro Edda, Tatanka Means, and Michael Rooker have been cast in various roles in the film series. In September 2022, Isabelle Fuhrman was cast in an undisclosed role.[13] By November of that year, principal photography had wrapped.[14] In May 2024, it was revealed that the Writers Guild of America had awarded credits for the first two movies to Costner and Jon Baird as screenwriters from an original story co-written by Costner, Baird, and Mark Kasdan.[15]

In October 2023, the official title was announced as Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1. The first trailer debuted, revealing a June 28, 2024 release date.[16][17][18]

Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2 (2024)

[edit]
Main article: Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2

In June 2022, Costner announced that Horizon will be a series of four films. Principal photography is scheduled to commence in April 2023, with subsequent installments filming back-to-back. Chapter 2 will be released three months after Chapter 1.[11][12] In November 2022, Costner stated that his son had been added to the cast, while principal photography is slated to commence in spring of 2023.[14]

Filming began in April 2023, with Glynn Turman, Kathleen Quinlan, and Giovanni Ribisi joining the cast. Costner, Miller, Worthington, Ella Hunt, Will Patton, Wilson, Fuhrman, and Church reprised their roles from the previous film. The director-of-photography and editor returned from the previous film.[19] Production on the second movie commenced concurrently with the third, in Utah by May 2023.[20]

In June 2023, Fuhrman expressed her admiration for Costner as an actor and a filmmaker, while confirming that series production would be conducted back-to-back.[21] One month following the completing of principal photography, Costner began filming the montage sequence that will feature at the end of the movie to provide insight into the events of Chapter 3.[2] In October 2023, the first trailer debuted with the movie's official title reveal. Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2, which was originally set to be scheduled for an August 16, 2024 release.[16][17][18] However, due to the box-office disappointment of Chapter 1, it was announced that the release date of this film had been indefinitely delayed until further notice.[22] Chapter 2 had its world premiere at the 81st Venice International Film Festival on September 7, 2024.[23][24][25]

Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 3 (TBA)

[edit]
Main article: Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 3

In June 2022, Costner revealed that the film series will consist of four distinct movies. Principal photography will take place beginning in April 2023, concurrently with its predecessor and its sequel. It is intended that Chapter 3 will be released approximately three months after the second movie, with Costner explaining that he would like to see each installment debut in a with a similar amount of time between each release.[11][12] Production on the untitled third movie commenced concurrently with the second, in Utah by May 2023.[20] Production of the third film was paused due to the writers' and the actors' strike.[26] In October of the same year following the debut of the trailer and poster for Chapter 1 and Chapter 2, it was confirmed that work on the sequels is ongoing.[27]

In February 2024, amid post-production on the first two installments, Costner commenced building a new production company named Territory Film Studios in Utah. Production on the third and fourth movie will begin later that year.[28] By April, Costner confirmed that the scripts are complete for the four separate films.[1] In May 2024, casting calls for background actors had commenced; while production was slated to begin later that month in St. George, Utah.[29][30] Later, production started in 2023, halting in part due to the writer and actor strikes.[31] One month following the completion of the previous installment, Costner began filming a montage sequence that features scenes from Chapter 3.[2] Costner stated that principal photography commenced on May 13, 2024, explaining that production had been planned to commence on April 25, and was moved to May 6 to accommodate funding.[5][32] In August 2024, the filmmaker stated that though the first installment underperformed at the box office, production will be completed in early 2025.[33] At the 2024 Venice Film Festival, Costner told reporters, "I don't know how I'm gonna make [Chapter 3] right now, but I'm gonna make it."[25]

Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 4 (TBA)

[edit]

In June 2022, Costner announced the Horizon film series will be made up of four films. Following completion of the previous installments, production will begin on the fourth movie.[11][12] In February 2024, it was announced that principal photography would start in Utah concurrently with the third movie, later that year.[28] By April of the same year, Costner announced that the scripts are completed for each installment of the film series.[1] In August 2024, the filmmaker stated that he intends to complete production on the movie in spring of 2025, immediately following the completion of photography for Chapter 3.[33]

Principal cast and characters

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List indicators

This section includes characters who will appear or have appeared in more than two films in the series.

  • An empty, dark grey cell indicates the character was not in the film, or that the character's official presence has not yet been confirmed.
  •  C indicates a cameo role.
  •  V indicates a voice-only role.
Character Films
Horizon:
An American Saga – Chapter 1 		Horizon:
An American Saga – Chapter 2 		Horizon:
An American Saga – Chapter 3 		Horizon:
An American Saga – Chapter 4
Hayes Ellison Kevin Costner
Frances Kittredge Sienna Miller
First Lt. Trent Gephardt Sam Worthington
H. Silas Pickering Giovanni Ribisi
Matthew Van Weyden Luke Wilson Does not appear
Diamond Kittredge Isabelle Fuhrman Does not appear
Juliette Chesney Ella Hunt Does not appear
Owen Kittredge Will Patton Does not appear
Marigold Abbey Lee Does not appear
Lucy "Ellen" Harvey Jena Malone Does not appear
Sgt. Major Thomas Riordan Michael Rooker Does not appear
Col. Albert Houghton Danny Huston Does not appear
Taklishim Tatanka Means Does not appear
Caleb Sykes Jamie Campbell Bower Does not appear
Neron Chavez Alejandro Edda Does not appear
Tracker Jeff Fahey Does not appear
Abel Naughton James Russo Does not appear
Desmarais Angus Macfadyen Does not appear
Annie Pine Does not appear Kathleen Quinlan Does not appear
TBA Does not appear Thomas Haden Church Does not appear
Does not appear Glynn Turman Does not appear

Additional production and crew

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Film Crew/detail
Composer Cinematographer Editor Production
company 		Distributing
companies 		Running time
Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 John Debney J. Michael Muro Miklos Wright New Line Cinema,
Territory Pictures 		Warner Bros. Pictures 3 hrs 1 mins
Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2 Miklos Wright & Mark Sawa 3 hrs 10 mins
Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 3 TBA TBA TBA TBA
Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 4

Reception

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For more details on the reception of each film, see the "Reception" section on each film's article.

Box office and financial performance

[edit]
Film Box office gross Box office ranking Home video
sales gross 		Gross
total income 		Budget Worldwide net
total income 		Ref.
North America Other territories Worldwide All-time
North America 		All-time
worldwide 		North America
Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 $29,000,411 $5,300,000 $34,300,411 4,025 5,645 [to be determined] [to be determined] $50,000,000 [to be determined] [34][35]

Critical and public response

[edit]
Film Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic CinemaScore
Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 51% (157 reviews)[36] 49/100 (47 reviews)[37] B-[38]
Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2 36/100 (11 reviews)[39] 49/100 (6 reviews)[40] [to be determined]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d O'Connell, Sean (April 9, 2024). "Warner Bros. 2024 CinemaCon Panel Live Blog". Cinemablend. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Baron, Zach (May 20, 2024). "Inside Kevin Costner's $38 Million Horizon Gamble". GQ. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  3. ^ a b Gillooly, Jon (June 7, 2024). "Q&A with Kevin Costner on His New Mega Western, 'Horizon'". Morgan County Citizen. Retrieved June 12, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c Weintraub, Steven & Tamera Jones (May 21, 2024). "Kevin Costner Discusses 'Horizon,' the Only Deleted Scene, and When It All Ends [Exclusive]". Collider. Retrieved June 12, 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d Fleming Jr., Mike (May 13, 2024). "Kevin Costner Reveals The Epic Journey Of His Cannes Western 'Horizon' And Has His Say On 'Yellowstone' Rancor". Deadline. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
  6. ^ a b Sattaro, Becky (June 7, 2024). "Kevin Costner Talks Horizon: An American Saga". Atlanta News First. Retrieved June 12, 2024.
  7. ^ a b Lawson, Sharon (June 3, 2024). "Kevin Costner on the story behind 'Horizon'". Fox 5 Atlanta. Retrieved June 12, 2024.
  8. ^ Fleming Jr., Mike (January 28, 2022). "Kevin Costner Sets Late Summer Start For His Passion Film 'Horizon,' Epic Period Western". Deadline. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  9. ^ Fleming Jr., Mike (April 18, 2022). "Warner Bros & New Line Partner On Kevin Costner's Epic Period Western Film 'Horizon'". Deadline. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  10. ^ Dunphey, Kyle (June 9, 2022). "Kevin Costner, Taylor Sheridan of 'Yellowstone' coming to Utah to make new movies". Deseret News. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
  11. ^ a b c d Ravindran, Manori (June 21, 2022). "Kevin Costner Wants to Split His Western Epic 'Horizon' Into Four Movies (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  12. ^ a b c d Busch, Jenna (June 21, 2022). "Kevin Costner's New Movie, Horizon, Is Being Split Into Four 2 Hour And 45 Minute Movies". Slash Film. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  13. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (September 6, 2022). "Isabelle Fuhrman Joins Kevin Costner's Western Epic 'Horizon'". Deadline. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  14. ^ a b Strohm, Emily (November 23, 2022). "Kevin Costner Reveals 13-Year-Old Son Hayes Will Appear in His Epic Western 'Horizon' : 'He's Really Good'". People. Retrieved February 6, 2023.
  15. ^ Burlingame, Russ (May 16, 2024). "Kevin Costner's Horizon: An American Saga Gets New Poster From Warner Bros". ComicBook.com. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  16. ^ a b Northrup, Ryan (October 5, 2023). "Horizon: An American Saga Trailer - Kevin Costner's Epic Western Movie Two-Parter Releases 2024". Screen Rant. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  17. ^ a b King, Aiden (October 5, 2023). "Kevin Costner Saddles Up in First 'Horizon' Trailer". Collider. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  18. ^ a b Seigh, Steve (October 5, 2023). "Horizon: An American Saga teaser trailer and release dates announced for Kevin Costner-directed epic". JoBlo. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  19. ^ Grobar, Matt (April 28, 2023). "'Horizon: An American Saga': Glynn Turman, Kathleen Quinlan & Giovanni Ribisi Join Second Installment Of Kevin Costner's Western Epic". Deadline. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  20. ^ a b Egan, Ladd & Madison Swenson (May 2, 2023). "Filming begins in St. George for Kevin Costner's 'Horizon, an American Saga'". KSL TV. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
  21. ^ Dick, Jeremy (June 21, 2023). "Exclusive: Isabelle Fuhrman Talks Working with 'Class Act' Kevin Costner on Horizon: An American Saga". MovieWeb. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  22. ^ "Kevin Costner's Horizon sequel pulled from cinemas after first movie bombs". The Independent. 2024-07-11. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  23. ^ "Biennale Cinema 2024 | Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter Two directed by and starring Kevin Costner". La Biennale di Venezia. July 31, 2024. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
  24. ^ Goodfellow, Melanie (July 31, 2024). "'Horizon: An American Saga-Chapter Two' To Premiere In Venice". Deadline. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
  25. ^ a b Tartaglione, Nancy (September 7, 2024). "Kevin Costner Says 'Horizon Chapter 2' Release Delay Resulted In "A Miracle", Grows Emotional Talking About 'Chapter 3' – Venice Film Festival". Deadline. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
  26. ^ Couch, Aaron (October 5, 2023). "Kevin Costner's Two-Part 'Horizon: An American Saga' Sets Summer 2024 Dates". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on October 5, 2023. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
  27. ^ Crosbie, Eve (October 10, 2023). "Everything You Need to Know About 'Horizon,' Kevin Costner's Upcoming Western Epic That He Gave Up His Role on 'Yellowstone' to Make". Entrepreneur. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  28. ^ a b Wright, Tracy (February 19, 2024). "Kevin Costner invests in Utah for next career move". Fox Business. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  29. ^ Culbertson, Mary (May 6, 2024). "Casting for Kevin Costner's Utah film is looking for paid extras". KSL. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
  30. ^ Grobar, Matt (May 17, 2024). "'Horizon: An American Saga' Trailer: New Look At Kevin Costner's Epic Western Ahead Of Cannes Film Festival Premiere". Deadline. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
  31. ^ Brown, Joden (May 17, 2024). "Kevin Costner Gets Into Gunfights During New Horizon: An American Saga Trailer". Comic Book Resource. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
  32. ^ Gomez, Dessi (May 20, 2024). "Kevin Costner's 'Horizon: An American Saga': Everything We Know So Far". Deadline. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  33. ^ a b Calvario, Liz (August 16, 2024). "Kevin Costner says some movies 'don't immediately resonate' — but he's committed to 'Horizon'". Today. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  34. ^ "Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 1 (2024)". The Numbers. Nash Information Services LLC. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
  35. ^ "Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1 (2024)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  36. ^ "Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
  37. ^ "Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  38. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (June 28, 2024). "'Inside Out 2' Sustains Joy At $60M, 'A Quiet Place: Day One' Screams $48M+, 'Horizon' Trots To $12M+ During Pre-July 4th Box Office – Friday PM Update". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 8, 2024. Horizon, similar to The Postman, received a B- CinemaScore.
  39. ^ "Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 2". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
  40. ^ "Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 2". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
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