Good news for Kevin Costner – his long-awaited Western epic, the Horizon series, finally has a release date after years of production and anticipation.
According to Warner Bros., Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 1 will be released on June 28, 2024, followed by its sequel, Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 2, less than two months later on August 16, 2024.
The upcoming release is the first big move for the former Yellowstone star since his divorce with ex-wife Christine Baumgartner was finally settled after a tense battle that waged on for months.
According to previously reported court documents, the actor and Oscar-winning director, 68, spent nearly $20 million of his own money to the budget of the Western saga, which is intended to stretch out over four parts.
While production on the third movie was paused due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, filming for the first two films was completed by this summer.
Production on the film series received significant publicity due to Kevin’s ongoing association with Yellowstone, although it is unclear at this point whether he will return to the franchise to wrap his leading role as John Dutton.
Horizon marks Kevin’s return to the director’s chair for the first time since his critically acclaimed 2003 film Open Range. He won an Academy Award in 1990 for directing the film Dances With Wolves, for which he was also nominated for Best Actor and won Best Picture.
A synopsis for the series reads: “America’s expansion into the west was one that was fraught with peril and intrigue from the natural elements, to the interactions with the indigenous peoples who lived on the land, and the determination and at many times ruthlessness of those who sought to settle it.”
Kevin told Deadline previously: “Horizon tells the story of that journey in an honest and forthcoming way, highlighting the points of view and consequences of the characters’ life and death decisions.”
In a different interview with the publication, he delved into the amount of personal stake that was invested in the project, which he had been working on since 1988, a year before the release of Dances With Wolves.
“I commissioned this story in 1988. Single movie, two-hander. A conventional Western with a beginning, middle, and end. I couldn’t get anybody to make it,” he explained.
“I’ve mortgaged 10 acres on the water in Santa Barbara where I was going to build my last house…,” the actor confessed. “But I did it without a thought. It has thrown my accountant into a [expletive] conniption fit. But it’s my life, and I believe in the idea and the story.”
Back in May, Kevin shared a glimpse of production on the film and wrote: “We’re deep into the production of #HorizonFilm, and, I have to tell you, I haven’t felt this way about a movie since we were making Dances With Wolves. Can’t wait to share it with all of you.”