In 2024, Kevin Costner released the first part of his passion project,Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1,and the movie’s less-than-stellar reviews likely have to do with this storytelling mistake.Kevin Costner has been in the movie business since the early 1980s, and in that time, he has received his fair share of praise. His directorial debut,Dances with Wolves,not only won an Academy Award for Best Picture, but it also earned an exorbitant amount of money at the box office considering its $22 million budget: $424 million. Yet,Costner’s recent Western movieshaven’t been so successful.
Horizon: An American Sagais Kevin Costner’s latest venture after leavingYellowstone.For four and a half seasons, Costner led the neo-Western show, but in the last year,Costner exitedYellowstonedue to disagreements with the showrunner, Taylor Sheridan. Now, it seems that Costner is putting his time and effort into this new franchise of Western movies.Horizon: An American Sagatakes place in the American Westin the years leading up to the Civil War. From new settlers to gruff cowboys, the movie follows the paths of various characters in this brutal Western setting.
Every Storyline In Horizon: An American Saga, Ranked Least To Most Interesting
Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1 featured seven different main storylines, but some of them were more compelling and interesting than others.
Kevin Costner’s Horizon Lacks The Clear Character Focus Of Yellowstone
How Yellowstone Does Justice To Its Characters
Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1earned 49% on Rotten Tomatoes and a disappointing $36 million at the box office. A big partHorizon: An American Saga’sfailure is how Costner handled his cast and characters.Horizon: An American Sagahas a massive castwhich showcases all the unique and interesting individuals who appeared in the American West during this time period. While a big cast can certainly give a movie an epic feel,Horizon: An American Sagawas unable to balance its many characters well. On the other hand, Costner’s previous project,Yellowstone,does this perfectly.
Yellowstonealso has a large cast, but unlikeHorizon: An American Saga,the Western TV show focuses on the right people at the right times. WhereHorizon: An American Sagaintroduces a number of figures who seem completely unrelated,Yellowstoneis able to showcase all its characters and how they’re connected.The Duttons are the main familyand each sibling has their own branch of characters. Ultimately,Yellowstonesucceeds at narrowing in on the most interesting characters in a timely fashion. Meanwhile,Horizon: An American Sagajumps from person to person without giving anyone the time they deserve.
Horizon Would’ve Been Better As A TV Show Than Multiple Movies
How Horizon Would Have Benefited From Being A TV Show
It is important to note thatHorizon: An American Sagawill have four movies. Chapter 1 released in 2024, and the three consequent chapters are in development. This gives Costner lots of screen time, yet even that isn’t really enough. In reality,Horizon: An American Sagawould have benefited from being a TV show rather than a series of movies. Although four movies is quite a bit of time,it still isn’t enough for the vast number of characters Costner has created. The beats of television are much better suited toHorizonthan the beats of movies.
With so many characters and plots,Horizon: An American Sagawould have made for a better TV show because each character could have gotten their own episode.
The way shows and movies tell stories is quite different. Where a movie has to tell a complete story in two or three hours, television can take its time. Episodes allow storytellers to dig deeper into specific storylines and characters. Movies, on the other hand, need to keep up the pace to be able to fit everything in. With so many characters and plots,Horizon: An American Sagawould have made for a better TV show because each character could have gotten their own episode. Thus, audiences would have connected much more with each individual.
Can Kevin Costner Still Get Horizon Back On Track?
Where Horizon: An American Saga Is Headed
Fortunately, all is not lost withHorizon: An American Saga.After Chapter 1’s poor reception, Kevin Costner has the chance to take the audience’s critiques and put them to good use. AlthoughHorizon: An American Saga - Chapter 2has already been filmedand is set for release at the start of 2025, Chapter 3 and 4 are still in development. The third movie is currently being filmed while the fourth film is being written. In this way,Costner can use these final movies to steerHorizon: An American Sagain the right direction.
Horizon: An American Sagawill premiere on June 17, 2025.
The key to savingHorizon: An American Sagais finding a balance between the characters and storylines. At this point, all the characters are isolated from each other and lack connections. Hopefully, in the following movies, Costner can pick up the pace and forge bonds between the many characters. By doing this, audiences will be able to see the path ahead, and get excited about what is to come. More than anything,Horizon: An American Sagasimply needs more time.
Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1
Cast
Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1 is set in 1859, following families as they settle in territories from Wyoming to Kansas. The narrative centers around a cowboy on the run with a prostitute and a young boy after a deadly confrontation, exploring the challenges of life in the Old West.
