Horizon: An American Saga writer, director, producer, and star Kevin Costner addresses the planned sequels for his Western epic and the challenges of making the first two. Representing a major passion project for Costner, who first conceived of the story more than 30 years ago, Horizon: An American Saga chronicles the lives of a variety of characters before and after the Civil War during the settlement of the American West. The first two installments, which Costner partly self-financed, are set to release in theaters this summer only weeks apart.
During a recent Horizon: An American Saga trailer reveal event, for which Screen Rant was in attendance, Costner opens up about his hopes for the franchise and the challenges that came with making the first two. The star also seemingly references his decision to mortgage his 10-acre Santa Barbara property in order to partly finance the project, calling the grand plan “not the smartest thing”. Check out Costner’s full comment below:
“I’m shocked at what we were able to get. I shot [Dances With Wolves] for 106 days, I shot the movie you’re just seeing right now in 52. … I did learn a lot and I was able to use every trick in the book to try to bring this movie to ground and to bring it to an audience. And there’s four of them!”
“Not the smartest thing, but I count on people. I count on the movie speaking louder than anything I can say. And so with that in mind, I just shoved West myself and I just left, and I went out to make this movie in Utah.
“The oldest profession is telling stories around a fire. We all want to hear a good one and we don’t want somebody to waste our time. And I take my time, I hope I don’t waste your time. I made four of these.
“I’d like for us to all take those journeys and try to have a high understanding of this first one. The second one’s already shot. I’m out there, heading west again, pushing a rock uphill trying to make the third one. I know I’m a little bit kind of a joke, or it’s maybe humorous to even watch me, because it’s like, ‘Whoa, I wonder when he’s going to ever stop digging.’ I don’t know.”
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Will Horizon 3 & 4 Actually Happen?
Why They’re Not Sure Things Just Yet
The fact that Costner himself financed part of Horizon: An American Saga and its sequel speaks to the difficulty he had in securing money through more traditional outlets. One major reason for this is that the Western is not the genre that it once was in terms of commercial prospects. Westerns can be hit or miss in today’s theatrical landscape, and the fact that each Horizon movie has a budget of at least $100 million means they are major financial risks.
The key deciding factor in terms of whether Horizon 3 and 4 get made will be how well the first two movies do at the box office. A report emerged a few weeks ago from Puck stating that Costner is having trouble securing funding for the final two installments, and it seems unlikely he’s going to make much progress in this regard until the first two actually come out and it becomes more clear whether there’s an appetite for these kinds of stories from audiences.
Adding to the Horizon: An American Saga question mark is the fact that the first two movies are releasing in theaters only weeks apart, which is completely unprecedented. If the first underperforms, Warner Bros. will still be stuck with the sequel. As it stands, it does seem like a long shot that Horizon: An American Saga will get parts 3 and 4, at least at the same budget levels as the first two. Clearly, however, Costner’s determination has gotten him this far, and it’s entirely possible that this tenacity will bring 3 and 4 to fruition.