Kevin Costner has helped keep the western genre alive in recent years, thanks primarily to his role in the neo-western TV series Yellowstone (though Taylor Sheridan deserves plenty of credit for that too). But he is bringing the western back to movie theaters in a big way, with an epic two-part movie, Horizon: An American Saga.
Though Costner is no stranger to big westerns, having directed Best Picture winner Dances with Wolves and Open Range, Horizon is described as his passion project. It's so big that making it allegedly played into Yellowstone season 5 being the final season of the hit TV show.
We've got everything you need to know about Horizon: An American Saga right here.
Horizon: An American Saga release date
Horizon: An American Saga has not one, but two release dates. The first chapter, as it's being called, of Horizon: An American Saga releases exclusively in movie theaters on June 28, 2024, while chapter two comes seven weeks later on August 16, 2024.
This isn't the first time that a movie is opting to split a massive story in two parts, but I'm not sure I can recall one that came so quickly on the heels of the other. However, that has been a strategy for some recent TV shows, particularly on Netflix, with examples being Stranger Things season 4 and The Lincoln Lawyer season 2.
It's been announced that Horizon: An American Saga is going to screen ahead of its June premiere at the Cannes International Film Festival on May 19. We'll keep an ear out for the first reactions to Costner's epic western.
Horizon: An American Saga plot
Costner wrote the script with Jon Baird. Here is the official synopsis:
"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."
When the movie was first announced, Costner was quoted in Deadline saying it looked into America's westward expansion prior to, during and after the Civil War, with him looking to tell the story in "an honest and forthcoming way, highlighting points of view and consequences of the characters' life and death decisions."
Horizon: An American Saga cast
For as big a movie as this appears to be, Horizon: An American Saga has a big cast to match it. Costner headlines things, pulling quadruple duty as star, writer, director and producer. But here is the massive, star-studded cast that Warner Bros. has announced (who they are playing has not been revealed):
- Kevin Costner
- Sienna Miller (Anatomy of a Scandal)
- Sam Worthington (Avatar: The Way of Water)
- Jean Malone (Goliath)
- Abbey Lee (Florida Man)
- Michael Rooker (Guardians of the Galaxy)
- Danny Huston (Yellowstone)
- Luke Wilson (The Royal Tenenbaums)
- Isabelle Fuhrman (Orphan: First Kill)
- Jeff Fahey (Lost)
- Will Patton (Outer Range)
- Tatanka Means (Killers of the Flower Moon)
- Owen Crow Shoe (Joe Pickett)
- Ella Hunt (Lady Chatterley's Lover)
- Jamie Campbell Bower (Stranger Things)
Horizon: An American Saga trailer
Warner Bros. has debuted the official trailer for Horizon: An America Saga, and it looks about as big and epic as the rumors have been suggesting. Watch the trailer directly below:
You can also see the previously released teaser trailer below.
Kevin Costner movies
Kevin Costner is best known for his acting work, famously starring in Bull Durham, Field of Dreams and the previously mentioned Yellowstone, but he is also an Oscar-winning director, specifically for Dances With Wolves. Costner has two other feature movies he has directed, 1997's The Postman and 2003's Open Range.
