Kevin Costner may not be returning to Yellowstone, but his new project, Horizon: An American Saga, is finally materializing.
Costner, 69, dropped the first full trailer for his upcoming movie on Monday, February 26. “It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a long time,” the actor said in a video shared via Instagram. “And I made it for you.”
The trailer hints that Horizon will be a truly epic affair, featuring sweeping shots of the American West and a massive cast that includes Danny Huston, Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington and Costner himself. Chapter 1 is set to hit theaters on June 28, while Chapter 2 will arrive on August 16.
The project marks Costner’s first return to the director’s chair in 20 years. He has previously said that he wants Horizon to encompass four parts, but the third and fourth chapters have not yet been filmed. The Oscar winner has been trying to make Horizon since the late 1980s and finally started production in 2022.
“When no one wanted to make the first one, I got the bright idea to make four,” Costner said during a panel discussion about the trailer, per The Hollywood Reporter. “So I don’t know what’s wrong with me. But I wanted it to step away from what we usually see in Westerns where there’s a town that’s already there. No one knows how [the town] came to be. … We have a lot of Westerns that aren’t good too because they get simplified. [But] this isn’t Disneyland. These are real lives.”
Last year, Costner revealed that he mortgaged his home in order to finance Horizon. “I did it without a thought,” he told Deadline in May 2023. “It has thrown my accountant into a f–king conniption fit. But it’s my life, and I believe in the idea and the story.”
He went on to admit that putting his own money into the project probably means he is “not a very good businessman,” but he has no regrets. “I don’t know why, but I have not let go of this one,” he continued. “I’ve pushed it into the middle of the table three times in my career and didn’t blink. This is my fourth.”
Yellowstone cocreator and showrunner Taylor Sheridan previously hinted that Horizon is the real reason Costner wanted off the show.
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“My last conversation with Kevin was that he had this passion project he wanted to direct,” Sheridan, 53, explained to The Hollywood Reporter in June 2023. “He and the network were arguing about when he could be done with Yellowstone. I said, ‘We can certainly work a schedule toward [his preferred exit date],’ which we did. … His movie seems to be a great priority to him and he wants to shift focus. I sure hope [the movie is] worth it — and that it’s a good one.”
Yellowstone is set to air its final episodes later this year after the second half of season 5 was delayed because of production issues followed by the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes. Costner said last year that he is not involved in future episodes of the show, but fans are still holding out hope that he’ll return to wrap up his arc as John Dutton.