Kevin Costner is back in the director’s saddle again, and hopefully, the end product will be received more like Dances With Wolves and less like The Postman and Waterworld. This would also be the creative diversion that pulled Costner out of the Yellowstone grind and partially kicked off the drama-infused era of that Paramount series’ final (and still-interrupted) season.
Will Costner return to Yellowstone for the final episodes? Unless a miracle happens, that answer would be “no.” However, The Bodyguard star now has an even more built-in audience than his previous movie star days for his two-to-four part Western project, Horizon: An American Saga. Let’s get down to cowboy business about what is coming to theaters this year.
Plot
Costner knows his target audience with this project, and he never (for better or worse) does anything halfway. For Horizon: An American Saga, he promised a slightly different Western experience than audiences usually see because this won’t be based around an already established settlement. Further, he told Variety that he wants theatergoers to “in a sense, feel themselves in this movie.” That could be a loaded expectation, but this story will go back further in U.S. history than any Yellowstone prequel.
The director is also sort of pulling a James Cameron in Avatar move here because not only did he decide to film two parts, but “When no one wanted to make the first one, I got the bright idea to make four,” he previously bragged. Additionally, he has labelled this massive project as “by far the biggest struggle” within his storied career. That’s saying a lot, given that Costner’s already been the brunt of scorn after big-budget flops, but this time around, he appears to be sticking with the fare that his current devotees love most, so their reception will be telling and probably pave the way for whether he will sink or swim in his future directorial efforts.
If there was any doubt that John Dutton fans would eat this movie up, then this synopsis should fully convince prospective viewers:
Horizon: An American Saga explores the lure of the Old West and how it was won — and lost — through the blood, sweat and tears of many. Spanning the four years of the Civil War, from 1861 to 1865, Costner’s ambitious cinematic adventure will take audiences on an emotional journey across a country at war with itself, experienced through the lens of families, friends and foes all attempting to discover what it truly means to be the United States of America.
Cast
The cast not only includes Costner but also Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, Jena Malone, Jamie Campbell Bower, Abbey Lee, Michael Rooker, Danny Huston, Luke Wilson, Isabelle Fuhrman, Jeff Fahey, Will Patton, Tatanka Means, Owen Crow Shoe, and Ella Hunt.
Release Date
Horizon: An American Saga arrives in two theatrical editions (with more to come, perhaps) on June 28 and August 16.