Kevin Costner’s Horizon: An American Saga
franchise is now wrapped up in a legal dispute as Chapter 2 remains without a release date. Representing a major pᴀssion project for Costner, the franchise features the Yellowstone star as writer, director, producer, and star in what was laid out as a four-part exploration of the settling of the American West before and after the Civil War. The first film hit theaters last summer and vastly underperformed, leading to the scrapping of Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2‘s release in theaters, with chapters 3 and 4 also in limbo.
Per THR, New Line Cinema and Horizon Series, Kevin Costner’s loan-out firm, are now in the midst of a legal battle regarding financing for the Horizon franchise. The two companies reportedly had a cofinancing agreement in place, which would have required both New Line and Horizon Series to repay a portion of the financing to City National Bank.
The dispute reportedly began with legal action by City National Bank, which initiated arbitration proceedings against both New Line and Horizon Series. New Line then responded by filing a crossclaim against Costner’s company in order to receive repayment as part of its defense.
What This Means For The Horizon Franchise’s Future
The Kevin Costner Project Is In Trouble
The Horizon franchise is a unique case in the world of Hollywood. Costner bet on himself with the franchise, sinking at least $50 million of his own money into it, on top of deferring his fees and mortgaging his Santa Barbara mansion. The reception to Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1, however, wasn’t glowing from critics, and the film grossed just $38 million worldwide on a budget thought to be around $100 million. The sequel was supposed to hit theaters seven weeks later, but this plan was shifted to give audiences more time to discover the first film on streaming.
Chapter 2 has been filmed and premiered at the Venice International Film Festival last September, but, as of writing, there’s no release date in sight for it. Filming on Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 3 got underway last year, but that film has reportedly stalled due to a lack of financing. Chapter 4 similarly remains a question mark. This latest legal battle is yet another setback for the Horizon franchise, raising more questions about whether the third and fourth films will ever actually see the light of day.
Our Take On The Horizon Franchise’s New Setback
What’s The Saga’s Best Path Forward?
Costner has previously expressed his commitment to making all four Horizon: An American Saga movies, but the obstacles are mounting and Chapter 4 feels like a longsH๏τ at this point. Even Chapter 3 will be lucky to make it to movie theater screens. The best path forward given the franchise’s current status may be to somehow evolve the third film into a franchise finale to avoid the story going unfinished.
Though Westerns do sometimes take off on streaming, it seems like viewers are less willing to see these movies in theaters, which is a big problem for a four-part theatrical epic in the genre.
Unfortunately for Costner, Westerns are not as popular as they once were. Though Westerns do sometimes take off on streaming, it seems like viewers are less willing to see these movies in theaters, which is a big problem for a four-part theatrical epic in the genre. It remains to be seen how the Horizon: An American Saga situation will play out, but Costner’s four-movie vision is looking increasingly unlikely to come to fruition.
Source: THR
Horizon: An American Saga
- Movie(s)
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Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1
- Created by
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Kevin Costner, Jon Baird, Mark Kasdan
- First Film
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Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1
- Latest Film
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Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1
- Upcoming Films
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Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2, Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 3, Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 4
Summary
“Horizon: An American Saga” is a series of epic Western films directed, produced, and co-written by Kevin Costner. The saga spans pre- and post-Civil War America, detailing the exploration and settlement of the American West over 15 years, and follows multiple storylines of fictional characters as they navigate the challenges and opportunities of this tumultuous period.
