No matter how critically or financially successful Yellowstone became, it never stood a chance against Kevin Costner’s ultimate passion project when it came to vying for his attention. Costner is leaving Yellowstone in favor of his long-gestating passion project, a sprawling, epic Western saga focused on the expansion of the American West both before and after the Civil War. Three sequels have already been greenlit for Horizon: An American Saga, and given that the plan was for all four to be shot back-to-back, there is no room for Costner, who is both starring and directing, to focus on anything else.
Yellowstone became a smash cross-demographic hit that spawned multiple spinoffs, prequels, and an upcoming sequel series, but despite that success, Costner has shown no interest in further involvement. Plenty of rumors of behind-the-scenes turmoil continue to linger, but the main reason that Costner’s time as the patriarch of the Dutton family is over is due to his involvement with Horizon. Given how long Costner has worked on the project — and how significant his own financial investment is in it — it’s easy to understand why he is done with Yellowstone.
Kevin Costner Has Wanted Horizon Since 1988 – Yellowstone Stood No Chance
According to Deadline, Kevin Costner first commissioned the story behind Horizon: An American Saga in 1988. It was originally intended to be a single movie, but he could not find a studio willing to make it. From there the Yellowstone star’s fascination with the story grew, and it became four separate screenplays. Now, 35 years after the idea was originally conceived, Costner is taking the entire production into his own hands.
In addition to walking away from a very lucrative television show ripe for syndication, Costner has sunk quite a bit of his own money into his passion project. Per Deadline, Costner is mortgaging one of his beachfront properties in addition to forgoing his own fees on the movie in order to get Horizon the funding it needs to be completed. With that level of personal commitment, Yellowstone understandably was pushed to the back burner for Costner, and while his exit may harm the overall arc of the show it’s difficult to fault him for leaving.
Kevin Costner’s Horizon Doesn’t Need To Beat Yellowstone To Be Successful
The financial and critical outcomes for Horizon: An American Saga likely mean very little to Kevin Costner, and therefore how it compares to Yellowstone is essentially moot. After working for more than three decades on it, the fact that the movie is being made and distributed is a victory for him. After earning two Oscars, three Golden Globes, a Primetime Emmy, and many other awards and nominations, Costner is focused on projects that he believes in, with stories he wants to tell.
There will no doubt be countless comparisons drawn between the Yellowstone universe and Horizon, especially given how both projects cover several different time periods in the American West. Given that Costner walked away from over $1 million per episode in order to pursue his passion project, the box office of the Horizon movies will certainly be questioned. However, given how much time, thought, effort, and money has gone into the project for the actor, none of those factors will matter when it comes to how he judges the project’s success.