Chapter 2 had its world premiere at the 81st Venice International Film Festival on September 7, 2024,[4][5] and is scheduled to be released in 2025; while Chapter 3 started principal photography in May 2024, and Chapter 4 is in active development.
Premise
The continuation of one story of the settlement of the American West. It follows the further adventures of characters first featured in Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1.
Kevin Costner first commissioned Horizon as a single film in 1988, and later approached Walt Disney Pictures with the project after the release of his 2003 film Open Range.[7] It was announced in January 2022 that Costner was set to direct and produce the film, a passion project for him, in addition to starring. It began casting in February.[8] In April, Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema joined the production to distribute.[9] In a June interview, Costner stated he plans to make four movies out of the premise, and was looking to cast over 170 speaking roles.[10]
In November 2022, Costner confirmed that the first film had been completed, and that the second had been greenlit, set to be filmed in Spring 2023.[11] Production for the second film commenced by April 2023, with Glynn Turman, Kathleen Quinlan and Giovanni Ribisi joining Costner, Miller, Worthington, Hunt, Patton, Wilson, Fuhrman and Haden Church, who continue on from the first film. Director of photography J. Michael Muro, production designer Derek R. Hill, editor Miklos Wright and costume designer Lisa Lovaas would also return.[12] Filming of the second installment began by May 2023,[13] before concluding in the summer of that year.[14]
Release
The Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2 release date currently has no calendar placement.[15] The movie was previously scheduled for release on August 16, 2024,[16] but due to the less than expected Chapter 1 performance, New Line Cinema removed the project from its original date.[17] The film had its world premiere at the 81st Venice International Film Festival on September 7, 2024.[5]
Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 36% of 11 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.1/10.[18]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 49 out of 100, based on six critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[19]
In June 2022, Costner stated he plans to make four Horizon films in total, shot back-to-back.[10] In May 2024, casting calls for background actors for Chapter 3 had commenced; while production was slated to begin later that month in St. George, Utah.[20][21] Later, it was reported that production initially commenced in 2023, before progress halted in part due to the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes.[22] One month following the completion of the previous installment, Costner began filming a montage sequence that features scenes from Chapter 3.[23] Costner stated that principal photography commenced on May 13, 2024, explaining that production had initially been planned to commence on April 25, before being moved to May 6 in order to accommodate funding.[24]
