Kevin Costner’s Western Epic Horizon Gets Suitably Massive Runtime

The runtime for Kevin Costner’s Horizon: An American Saga is seemingly revealed. Directed by Costner, Horizon is an upcoming Western film that will be released in two parts. The first part, Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 is set for release on June 28, with the second part, Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2 coming less than two months later on August 16.

As per Deadline, Horizon’s run time is reportedly revealed. The source quoted Horizon as a “3-hour Western,” suggesting that the film will be three hours. The source did not specify which of the two Horizon films they were referring to. In addition to stating the Horizon run time, the source posited that the film can “either be a $5 M or a $100 M movie” at the box office.

Will Horizon Live Up To Expectations?

If this is accurate, Horizon will be a lengthy summer release. Though long, a three-hour run time would not be entirely surprising for Horizon. For one, the run time fits the genre, as the film duet is slated to be a duology of epic Westerns, which typically use long run times to span complex narratives and take their time to let the audience take in the luscious, wide-shot scenery.

Secondly, Costner has reportedly poured a lot into the Horizon movies, so it makes sense that he would take his time with them.

The length of the Horizon films also helps contextualize how dominating these movies were to Costner’s schedule. Before leaving the TV series Yellowstone, Costner tried to demand that the network shorten the amount of days that he would be called to set, in order to clear the way for the development of his Horizon films. While these scheduling concerns are partially attributable to Costner’s love for the project and the making of two films, a three-hour run time could also help to explain why the Horizon films were all-consuming for Costner.

With this run time also comes the great responsibility for Horizon to deliver. There is nothing worse than a three-hour movie that plods along sluggishly. In order to avoid this fate, Horizon must live up to its high expectations by keeping audiences engaged for its entire runtime. The anticipation is high for Horizon, which will either help or hurt the film, as audiences might have high hopes and risk disappointment if the film underperforms. Hopefully, Costner’s passion project will pay off as the Horizon films prepare for theatrical release this summer.

Source: Deadline