Kevin Costner’s Horizon Saga Still in Limbo Two Years Later
Kevin Costner left Yellowstone to chase his dream epic Horizon: An American Saga — and now the ambitious gamble hangs in limbo.
Some folks peak early. Others, like Kevin Costner, become America’s favorite gruff dad on cable TV after four decades in Hollywood. But, as we’ve all seen, even a Yellowstone-sized hit can’t keep Costner away from his true passion: sprawling Western epics that seem determined to eat up both your weekend and his life’s savings.
The Yellowstone Fallout: Costner Rides Off (Mid-Season) Into the Sunset
Costner’s stock had arguably never been higher than it was in the early 2020s, thanks to Yellowstone and Taylor Sheridan’s knack for hard-nosed ranch drama. So naturally, things fell apart. Costner bailed on the show halfway through season 5, chasing a long-delayed dream project. Rumors flew about contracts, scheduling, and 'creative differences,' but the bottom line is he was gone. Sheridan patched together a sort of finale with what he had, but let’s not pretend it wasn’t messy or unsatisfying for fans.
The Dream: Horizon – Decades in the Making (and Mostly on Costner's Dime)
So, what dragged Costner away from TV’s hottest ranch? That would be Horizon: An American Saga, his magnum opus about westward expansion — something he’s apparently been world-building since the late 1980s. He went so all-in that he dumped about $38 million of his own cash into producing the first two parts, which together racked up a whopping $100 million budget. You’d think that kind of financial commitment would buy a little security, but… not so much.
Chapter 1 finally hit theaters, fueled by nostalgia, Costner’s name, and enough cavalry charges to populate several John Ford movies. But the box office? Not great. In a twist of cruel math, Chapter 1 eked out just over $38 million, basically just repaying Costner’s portion, and nothing else. The plan was always to bankroll further chapters with ticket sales — a bold but, frankly, wishful-thinking approach.
Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop: Chapter 2, Sort Of… And the Saga’s Future
- Chapter 1: Released to lukewarm reviews. Critics liked the landscapes but not the three-hour mishmash of disconnected origin stories. Even Costner’s star power and a stacked cast didn’t drum up major enthusiasm.
- Chapter 2: Fast-tracked because Costner self-financed. Finished in 2023, first screened at the Venice International Film Festival in September 2024. Somehow, reactions got even more divisive than the first movie.
- Chapter 3: It’s in the early stages, but money (or faith) for chapters 3 and 4 is almost certainly not coming. Unless Costner finds a very trusting financier or wins the lottery.
Behind the Scenes: Lawsuits and Turmoil
If the money problems weren’t enough, the production has run straight into a pile-up of legal headaches:
In mid-2025, Costner’s personal company behind the films was nailed with an arbitration claim from New Line Cinema over an alleged missed payment. That was just the appetizer.
Shortly after, a much more serious lawsuit showed up. Stunt performer Devyn LaBella accused Horizon’s production of not just workplace chaos, but sexual harassment and discrimination. She claims she was pushed into an unscheduled and unrehearsed sexual assault scene — without the required intimacy coordinator.
'The absence of an intimacy coordinator is inexcusable on a modern set, especially for a scene like that,' LaBella’s filing alleges.
On top of that: the United Costume Corporation, who outfitted both Chapter 1 and 2, filed for breach of contract after allegedly getting stiffed on multiple invoices. Add it up, and you get a behind-the-scenes situation so chaotic, it’s amazing any film made it to theaters at all.
The Fatal Flaws: A Wobbly Release Plan, and Even Wobblier Finances
Let’s get real — the entire Horizon experiment was doomed by wishful thinking and an overstuffed production calendar. Costner aimed to drop Chapter 2 less than two months after Chapter 1 (get hype for the world’s longest double feature!). But unless your first movie is an absolute phenomenon, releasing parts that close is a formula for disaster — especially with mixed reviews and audience indifference. As it stands, Chapter 2 still doesn’t have a real wide release, roughly two years after the original.
What’s honestly wild is that Costner intended to use box office returns from 1 and 2 to fund the back half of his saga. That might have made sense in 1992. Alas, Chapter 1 barely scraped its own costs, let alone fueling a 4-part epic. Even with Costner saying he just wants to finish telling this multi-decade story, this project was never going to make anybody money. Instead, it’s Costner who’s out tens of millions — and that four-part epic is probably never happening.