An American Saga Makes You Wait For Kevin Costner

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Summary

Kevin Costner is confirmed not returning to the Yellowstone series.
Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 1 has underperformed at the box office.
Horizon’s 3-hour runtime may contribute to its underwhelming performance.

I’m surprised by how much of Horizon: An American Saga doesn’t even have Kevin Costner in it. Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 finally hit theaters on June 28, 2024 after nearly a year of speculation and uncertainty about the massive Costner project. While there was certainly a great deal of confusion about whether Costner would be returning to his hugely successful Yellowstone series, the Academy Award-winning actor recently confirmed that he will not appear in future episodes of Taylor Sheridan’s show.

Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 had an underwhelming opening weekend at the box office, generating just $11 million against its reported budget of $100 million. With Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2 set to be released in August, it could prove to be another unfortunate box office flop and put a major wrench in Costner’s plans for future sequels. The mixed reviews for Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 don’t help Costner’s case much as he will continue to rely on fans and audience ratings to extend his franchise’s potential.

Kevin Costner Isn’t Even In The First Hour Of Horizon: An American Saga

Costner had his hands full as star and director

Kevin Costner as Hayes sitting and staring at somebody in Horizon An American Saga

With Costner being such a towering force in
Yellowstone
, I expected him to be in the whole movie.

With Costner playing such an integral part of the film as both its director and protagonist Hayes Ellison, it’s surprising that it takes nearly an hour into Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 before he shows up. Costner obviously had his hands full as both the star and director of the project, which also features a great cast of Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, Giovanni Ribisi, Ella Hunt, Jena Malone, Abby Lee, and Owen Crow Shoe. Still, with him being such a towering force in Yellowstone, I expected him to be in the whole movie.

Thanks to the 3-hour runtime of Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1, which makes it one of the longest theatrical releases of the year, audiences still get plenty of screen time from Costner in the final two hours of the movie. Many fans have applauded the longer runtime for its ability to chronicle the multitude of conflicts between the various characters and consider the 3-hour runtime entirely worth the price of the ticket. It could, however, be part of the reason why its box office is underperforming.

Kevin Costner wearing hats in horizon and yellowstone

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Costner’s new film Horizon: An American Saga is another Western, but its performance doesn’t live up to the success of Yellowstone.

Kevin Costner Is The Main Star Of Horizon Chapter 1’s Final Two Hours

There’s no way Costner would not be the star of Horizon

After Costner’s Hayes Ellison character is absent for most of the film’s first hour, he then becomes the one who has the most screen time from that point on. Costner will likely continue to be the face of his epic Western franchise in Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2 and hopefully in his planned future installments, which include at least two additional sequels. With Costner putting tens of millions of dollars of his own money into his Horizon: An American Saga franchise, I hope the box office trajectory will change course.

Jena Malone, Kevin Costner, and Sienna Miller in Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 1

Every Death In Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 1 Explained

Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 kills several significant characters as part of the main storylines. Here’s who dies, who kills them, and why.

Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1

Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 is a Western film directed by Kevin Costner, and sees him in the starring role. The film explores multiple generations surrounding the expansion of the American West before and after the Civil War. Horizon is the first in a series of four films, all of which were greenlit by Warner Bros. Pictures.

Director: Kevin Costner
Release Date: June 28, 2024
Studio(s): New Line Cinema , Territory Pictures
Distributor(s): Warner Bros. Pictures
Writers: Jon Baird , Kevin Costner
Cast: Kevin Costner , Sienna Miller , Sam Worthington , Luke Wilson , Giovanni Ribisi , Thomas Haden Church , Jena Malone , Abbey Lee , Michael Rooker , Danny Huston , Isabelle Fuhrman , Jeff Fahey , Will Patton , Tatanka Means , Ella Hunt , Jamie Campbell Bower
Runtime: 181 Minutes