Yellowstone News: Kevin Costner’s Adventure “From Yellowstone to Waterworld and Horizon”
Yellowstone News: Kevin Costner’s Adventure “From Yellowstone to Waterworld and Horizon”
The first trailer for Kevin Costner’s epic Western drama Horizon: An American Saga dropped not that long ago and it looks like everything I hoped for. A sprawling, epic, beautifully shot Western the likes of which simply haven’t been made in years, outside of Taylor Sheridan’s 1883.
Costner, of course, was one of the stars—and certainly the main draw—for Sheridan’s Yellowstone, which Costner has departed. He had already cut back his time working on the Montana ranch drama to focus more on Horizon and looking at the trailer you can see why. Yellowstone had already been going downhill, stuck in a constant swirl of misery and miasma, and—in my humblest of opinions—felt too much like a soap opera by the time its fifth season aired. A soap opera with lots of very, deeply unpleasant people.
Horizon: An American Saga looks like just the opposite. Here’s the trailer:
In the great tradition of Warner Bros. Pictures’ iconic Westerns, “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.
The film’s sprawling cast includes “Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, Jena Malone, Owen Crow Shoe, Tatanka Means, Ella Hunt, Tim Guinee, Danny Huston, Colin Cunningham, Scott Haze, Tom Payne, Abbey Lee, Michael Rooker, Will Patton, Georgia MacPhail, Douglas Smith, Luke Wilson, Isabelle Fuhrman, Jamie Campbell Bower, Alejandro Edda, Wasé Winyan Chief, Michael Anganaro, Angus Macfadyen, Jon Beavers, Alex Nibley, Kathleen Quinlan, Etienne Kellici, Amos Jason Charging Cloud, Bodhi Okuma Linton, Gregory Cruz, James Russo, Jeff Fahey, David O’Hara, Chris Conner, Leroy M. Silva, Bernardo Velasco, Tom Everett, Glynn Turman, Giovanni Ribisi and more.”
Horizon: An American Saga’s Massive Budgets & Problems Are Similar To Waterworld
The Horizon franchise has faced some financial concerns considering that Costner is trying to raise money for the third and fourth installments before Horizon 1 & 2 even come out. Both of the Horizon movies reportedly have budgets at or above $100 million and there are already problems in place with financing future films. Costner’s unconventional release strategy for his Horizon rollout has some benefits, such as saving on marketing costs, but still requires a substantial investment upfront.
These financial concerns for Costner’s latest film venture are reminiscent of the issues Costner’s movie Waterworld once had. The 1995 adventure epic had a budget balloon to the point that it could not succeed, amassing to roughly $175 million only to generate $235 million worldwide. With all the marketing costs factored in, Waterworld was not much of a box office hit considering all the costs that went into making it. Horizon could follow a similar path if its box office numbers do not perform as expected.
Kevin Costner’s Horizon Release Plan Makes The Franchise A Bigger Risk
Horizon’s unorthodox release plan makes more sense for television and streaming but is rarely ever done in wide theatrical movie releases. With two feature films already done that come out just a few months apart, the question remains whether there will really be a large enough audience for them both. If the first Horizon movie fails to impress at the box office, it’s hard to believe that Horizon 2 would do much better. Costner’s risky approach with his Horizon franchise could pay off in unprecedented ways but could also trip on its own feet.
This is Costner’s first time back in the director’s chair since 2003’s Open Range, which he starred in alongside Robert Duvall. He also directed the classic Dances With Wolves, his directorial debut, in 1990.
The first part of Horizon: An American Saga lands in theaters on June 28, 2024, the second on August 16, 2024, so at least we won’t have long to wait. I’m curious how this will go over with audiences. If it’s as good as it looks and reviews well, it might be a one-two punch that really boosts this year’s box office. Costner has two further films planned, making this a tetralogy. I’ll be curious to see how it all plays out.
I’m certainly thrilled to have a new big budget Western coming out this year. Twice.
