Sam Worthington, Sienna Miller, and Jamie Campbell Bower have joined Kevin Costner’s next directorial feature, Horizon. Costner will be stepping behind the camera for the first time in nearly two decades and will also star in, write, produce, and self-finance Horizon. Warner Bros/New Line Cinema will distribute the film.
The plot synopsis for Horizon (via Deadline) reads:
"Horizon chronicles a multi-faceted, 15-year span of pre- and post-Civil War expansion and settlement of the American West. Experienced through the eyes of many, the epic journey is fraught with peril and intrigue from the constant onslaught of natural elements to the interactions with the Indigenous peoples who lived on the land and the determination and at many times ruthlessness of those who sought to settle it."
Horizon will be the first of a trilogy and was previously envisioned as a TV series and a four-part movie. Perhaps Costner’s original plans turned out to be a little too epic. But Costner never skimps on grandiosity in his movies, especially the ones he directs, like the Oscar-winning Dancing With Wolves, which is now regarded as one of the best films of the ‘90s. Costner co-wrote Horizon with author Jon Baird.
As for Horizon’s cast, Avatar breakout Sam Worthington has made a name for himself on the small screen with outstanding performances in Manhunt: Unabomber and Under the Banner of Heaven. He is also set to reprise his role as Jake Sully in James Cameron’s upcoming Avatar: The Way of Water and its three sequels. Worthington is excited to work with Costner and released a statement saying,
"I am very excited and humbled to go on this incredible and important journey with Kevin, who is one of the industry’s finest and inspiring storytellers."
Sienna Miller is coming off Netflix’s acclaimed Anatomy of a Scandal and will next appear in Apple’s climate change drama Extrapolations. Miller echoed Worthington’s statement, "I am so excited to go on this epic journey with such a legendary actor and director at the helm. The story is riveting. I am very honored to be a part of it."
Finally, there is Jamie Campbell Bower, best known for playing the menacing villain Vecna in Stranger Things season 5. Bower confirmed his Horizon casting on Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show. Hopefully, Kevin Costner will make good use of the super talented cast.
Horizon will commence production on August 29 in Utah. There is currently no word on the film’s release date.
Horizon Will Be Kevin Costner’s Next Big Western After Yellowstone
Kevin Costner is currently busy with Yellowstone season 5, which is slated to premiere later this year, but judging by Horizon’s filming schedule, Costner seems to have wrapped up on Yellowstone. Costner will be heavily involved with Horizon for the next few years. The first film itself is expected to shoot for eight months, with Costner immediately beginning work on the others after wrapping part one.
Costner’s busy schedule spells trouble for Yellowstone’s future, with all signs now pointing towards the upcoming season 5 being the final one. Yellowstone’s supersized 14-episode season 5 will air in two parts, with episode one premiering on Paramount Network on November 13, 2022.
Regarding the show’s future, Costner is also in the dark, but he did tease Yellowstone season 5 and John Dutton’s arc.
"It’s been set up in a sense that there’s so much pressure on what’s coming for his land that he’s going to have to do something, so we’re going to see what he did and does to stay ahead of it and I think that’s what John Dutton has to do but the pressures about the land have been, always for this family, [that they’ve] got to hold on to it with a level of violence."