Kevin Costner Returns to the Grand American West in First Trailer for Horizon: An American Saga

Five seasons of Yellowstone on TV has arguably done quite a bit for both the status of the contemporary western and the directorial cache of star Kevin Costner, and with this first look at his upcoming mega project Horizon: An America Saga it becomes clear that the veteran writer-director is not about to let this opportunity pass him by. The film released a first trailer for its first chapter today, in what might be the first of four interlocking stories set in the American Civil War period of the Old West. As the official synopsis puts it:

In the great tradition of Warner Bros. Pictures’ iconic Westerns, Horizon: An American Saga explores the lure of the Old West and how it was won—and lost—through the blood, sweat and tears of many. Spanning the four years of the Civil War, from 1861 to 1865, Costner’s ambitious cinematic adventure will take audiences on an emotional journey across a country at war with itself, experienced through the lens of families, friends and foes all attempting to discover what it truly means to be the United States of America.

This is a huge, sprawling ensemble cast production, headlined by Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, Jena Malone, Owen Crow Shoe, Tatanka Means and Costner himself. The overall cast it massive, however, also including the following: Ella Hunt, Tim Guinee, Danny Huston, Colin Cunningham, Scott Haze, Tom Payne, Abbey Lee, Michael Rooker, Will Patton, Georgia MacPhail, Douglas Smith, Luke Wilson, Isabelle Fuhrman, Jamie Campbell Bower, Alejandro Edda, Wasé Winyan Chief, Michael Anganaro, Angus Macfadyen, Jon Beavers, Alex Nibley, Kathleen Quinlan, Etienne Kellici, Amos Jason Charging Cloud, Bodhi Okuma Linton, Gregory Cruz, James Russo, Jeff Fahey, David O’Hara, Chris Conner, Leroy M. Silva, Bernardo Velasco, Tom Everett, Glynn Turman, Giovanni Ribisi and more.

The 69-year-old Costner writes and directs, evoking obvious comparison to so many other films in his storied career, from his own directorial debut Dances With Wolves to 1994’s Wyatt Earp or 2003’s Open Range, which was the last time he directed a feature. Horizon: An American Saga looks as visually striking as any of them in this early footage, enriched with truly majestic location shooting. Its complex story, meanwhile, appears to feature viewpoint characters from both the American settler/military and native American cultures. It’s hard to say if this footage is all captured directly from the June 28, 2024 release of what is apparently called Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 1, or the subsequent release of a quickly following Chapter 2 on Aug. 16, 2024. That quick turnaround could make the two films a blockbuster moment for the classic Western, appealing especially to older audiences if we’re being honest.

Future Horizon installments, meanwhile, would seemingly be quite a ways off, as the filming of a third film was reportedly delayed by the writer’s/actor’s strike. Perhaps Warner Bros. and New Line will want to make sure they don’t have a The Postman on their hands before committing those resources, but they’ll find out soon enough. Check out the first epic trailer for Horizon: An American Saga below.