The convoluted production and release of Kevin Costner’sHorizon: An American Sagahas been a disappointment on a number of levels, but it marked a career first for Costner that makes the franchise’s uncertain future even more regrettable. Costner’s long-gestating passion project was originally designed to play out across four epic Western movies.
However, behind-the-scenes drama combined with financial issues have left the franchise’s future up in the air. A lukewarm reception and underwhelming box office return for the series' first chapter caused the sequel’s release to be delayed, and a lack of funding has left the final two chapters' production on unstable ground.
Costner already has a significant personal financial stake in the franchise’s continuation to complement the desire to see his long-developing vision brought to life. Aside from that, theHorizon: An American Sagafranchise would have been another landmark in Costner’s storied career as an actor and director.
Horizon Was Supposed To Be Kevin Costner’s First Franchise
He’s Appeared In Franchise Movies Before, But Never Led One
Kevin Costner has checked a lot of boxes in his career as an actor and director. He’s won an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy, a Golden Globe, a SAG Award, and countless other accolades in his 44-year career. However,he has famously never led a movie franchise; Costner almost exclusively acts in and directs stand-alone movies.
Costner has loosely opined on franchises in the past, in fact. In a 2014 interview withSlashFilm,Costner spoke about signing multi-picture deals as they relate to franchises. It outlines his general thoughts on making sequels, and explains why he hasn’t ever signed on for a major franchise:
Well, really, I think that the second one depends on the first one, so I’m not really that apprehensive. I think they’re not going to want to make one if it’s not good, and I’m not going to want to make a second one if the first one’s not good. So I won’t be tied to something that’s not working, that won’t happen. If it’s not working, why would any of us want to do it?
Technically, he participated in the DCEU franchise as Jonathan Kent, the adoptive father of Henry Cavill’s Superman, but after appearing inMan of Steel, he made little more than a cameo inBatman vs. Superman. Horizon: An American Sagawould have been Costner’s first real franchise as a lead actor, and certainly as director.
Why Horizon Struggled At The Box Office & With Critics
The Baffling Decision To Make It A Theatrical Release Vs. A TV Show Is At The Heart Of Its Struggles
Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1was met with middling reviews from critics, with most citing admiration for the massive scope and scale of the endeavor, but acknowledging that the way the movie was edited made it difficult to digest as a self-contained movie.
It’s very clearly the first of four parts, but the way Costner planned the back-to-back releases for the first two chapters,the first individual movie wound up being a scattershot patchwork of setup for dozens of characters, with virtually no resolution of any kind. It set up some intriguing threads, but that doesn’t add up to an enjoyable movie experience.
June 28th, 2024
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Audiences seemed to be equally vexed and disinterested in signing on for three hours of exposition with limited action, as the movie failed to even make back its projected budget. Negative word of mouth took care of the rest, andthe release ofChapter 2was delayed indefinitely to give the first movie more time to find an audience.
Admittedly, that plan may have worked out.Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1became a global streaming hitwhen it finally landed on Netflix, six months after its initial release. Netflix user curiosity and the “For You” algorithm aren’t proof that the second chapter would be any more of a success, but it’s worth noting that far more people saw the first movie than the box office reflects.
What’s The Latest On More Horizon Movies Happening?
The Second Chapter Is Already Completed, But The Future Is Murky At Best
Our latest update on the status of theHorizonmovies came in June 2024, whenScreen Rant’s Liam Crowley spoke withHorizonstar Glynn Turman. Turman noted that there were no updates about the release status ofChapter 2, and thatwhileChapter 3had begun filming, he was uncertain about whether any of it was completed.
With such a lackluster return onChapter 1, Costner and the team behind theHorizon: An American Sagafranchise may be hard-pressed to come up with the funds to even finish production on Chapter 3, much less put three more hours together to complete the epic Western saga.
IfChapter 2ever gets a theatrical release it could certainly help matters to some degree, but with a poor box office return from the first chapter and reviews that echo the complaints fromHorizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1, it seems like it won’t do much to make up ground.
On top of everything,Costner was sued by a stunt performer for an unscripted sexual assault scene, casting even more doubt on the franchise’s prospects. Withso many issues facing theHorizon: An American Sagafranchise, it seems unlikely that the franchise ever progresses past the already-completed second chapter.
