Kevin Costner’s upcoming Western epic Horizon: An American Saga is ending a 21-year drought for the star. Clint Eastwood is probably the last movie star to truly make his name off of Westerns. The genre was waning when he broke through with Sergio Leone’s Dollars trilogy during the ’60s, but whenever Eastwood returned for a new “Oater,” audiences would always turn out. Probably the only other major star to rival Eastwood’s Western success is Kevin Costner, whose Oscar-winning drama Dances with Wolves led to a short-lived rival of the genre during the ’90s.
Costner doesn’t have as many Western movie credits as Eastwood, but it’s a genre he’s very comfortable in. One of Costner’s early breakthroughs was a supporting role in 1985 ensemble Silverado, he went head-to-head with Kurt Russell’s Tombstone with biopic Wyatt Earp in 1994 and his TV series Yellowstone is very much a modern Western. In 2024, Costner’s two-part Horizon: An American Saga arrives, which is his most ambitious work to date, and one he helped finance himself. Time will tell if his gamble pays out, but it will be nice to have big-budget Westerns back on the big screen.
Kevin Costner’s New Western Risks Repeating His Historic $264 Million Flop 19 Years Later
Kevin Costner’s first 2 Horizon movies are set to release this summer in an unusual back-to-back theatrical rollout that runs the risk of backfiring.
Horizon: An American Saga Is The First Movie Kevin Costner Has Directed Since 2003
Horizon: An American Saga breaks a surprise streak for Costner since it’s the first movie he’s directed since Open Range back in 2003. Costner co-starred with screen icon Robert Duvall in the movie, which told the story of two open-rangers battling a vicious rancher. Open Range grossed $68 million worldwide on a $22 million budget (via The Numbers), becoming an all too rare Western movie success during this era.
Open Range received somewhat mixed reviews, but is now regarded as one of Costner’s most underrated; the movie’s climatic gun battle is also a favorite among devotees of the genre. All of Costner’s directorial works have been Westerns in some sense, including The Postman, his critically derided post-apocalyptic adventure from 1997. Given his talent behind the camera, it’s kind of shocking it’s been so long since Costner has been behind the viewfinder. That said, it also speaks to how long it’s taken the Horizon movies to come together.
Horizon Is A Safe Bet For Kevin Costner’s Directorial Return
It’s taken Costner 35 years to bring Horizon to life, with the star almost directing it in the aftermath of Open Range’s success. Now that Yellowstone has brought the star a new generation of fans, An American Saga is the perfect choice for his directing return. It’s a genre he’s closely associated with, and one that plays to his existing fanbase. If the Horizon movies are a success, they could lead to another potential Western revival on the big screen too.
Costner is betting big on Horizon: An American Saga; he left Yellowstone to pursue the movies, and has sunk his own money into them. In terms of both critical and financial success, his directing comeback needs to be a triumph.
Horizon: An American Saga
Horizon: An American Saga is a Western film directed by Kevin Costner, and sees him in the starring role. The film explores multiple generations surrounding the expansion of the American West before and after the Civil War. Horizon is the first in a series of four films, all of which were greenlit by Warner Bros. Pictures.
- Director
- Kevin Costner
- Release Date
- June 28, 2024
- Distributor(s)
- Warner Bros. Pictures
- Cast
- Kevin Costner , Sienna Miller , Sam Worthington , Luke Wilson , Giovanni Ribisi , Thomas Haden Church , Jena Malone , Abbey Lee , Michael Rooker , Danny Huston , Isabelle Fuhrman , Jeff Fahey , Will Patton , Tatanka Means , Ella Hunt , Jamie Campbell Bower
