One of the reasons why Kevin Costner left Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone series is to focus on his own project, Horizon: An American Saga. The actor is quite proud of his work on the four-part movie, and he’s also confident that fans will appreciate it.
Splitting films into several installments has become the new trend in Hollywood, and most of the time, it neither profits the show nor the audience. Costner releasing two movies with a few weeks in between already sounds like what Zack Snyder did when he released the two-part space movie, Rebel Moon.
Kevin Costner Is Confident With Horizon: An American Saga’s Success
In an interview with Fandango, actor Kevin Costner defended his decision to release Horizon: An American Saga in two parts this year. He also expressed confidence that the movie will give an outstanding performance at the box office.
Why do I have to wait two years? I was confident that Horizon 1 will be something that people want to see so that’s why I made two. After it, I didn’t have to wait because my story’s not over.
The actor seems quite proud of the project that he himself directed, wrote, and starred in. He said that the story has been brewing since the ‘80s, and he thinks that it’s the kind of film he wants to get made for him to watch.
I’m not waiting, I’m telling my story, and I hope that my relationship with audiences is such that they go, ‘Yeah’ and they make this their own. They make themselves want to share it.
On the other hand, the audience did not seem pleased about the film. The first installment of this four-part movie anthology premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in France, and most critics panned the movie.
Based on the rating posted on Rotten Tomatoes, Horizon: An American Saga does not look too impressive with a 43% score. The majority of the reviews on the site thought it underwhelming and lacked emotional depth. It also did not help that it has a three-hour duration as a set-up for the next one.
If the first part is already a critical flop, how else is the second part going to save the franchise? Costner splitting the movie with two release dates does not seem like a wise move after all.
The Horizon Franchise Might End Up Like Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon
Like Kevin Costner, Zack Snyder also believed in Rebel Moon. It was his original piece for Netflix, and it was also released in two parts. Fans are already aware that it failed to perform, and it somehow put a stain on the director’s reputation.
The first part, A Child of Fire, was released in December 2023 with a 21% score while the second film, The Scargiver, premiered in April 2024 with a 15% score. At this point, fans have already decided that the story isn’t for them so there’s no purpose in watching Part 2 anymore.
Costner’s movie is in the same perilous state as Rebel Moon after the first part of the saga has been critically panned by reviewers.
Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 hits theaters on June 28.
