Horizon: An American Saga Release Date, Cast, Plot, Teaser Trailer And More Details

As the director of "Dances With Wolves" and "Open Range" and the star of the popular television show "Yellowstone," Kevin Costner is no stranger to a sweeping, grandeur-filled Western. Nor is he unfamiliar with a historical piece that attempts to boldly investigate the real — and sometimes ugly and brutal nature — of what life was like in the 19th century as the United States expanded from coast to coast. All that experience and all those ideas majorly factor into "Horizon: An American Saga," an extremely ambitious film series that Costner devised, co-wrote, directed, and helped finance. 

Costner — who will also star in "Horizon," his fourth-ever directorial project — has a complicated and lengthy story to tell, and he'll need four whole movies' worth of screen time to do it. "They're all different films that all connect, so you're watching a saga of these storylines that are happening," Costner told Variety of the quadrilogy, which boasts an astounding 170 speaking parts and takes place over a span of 15 years in the great American West, as white American settlers drive forward their idea of progress despite the longstanding presence and opposition of Indigenous peoples.

As the first entries in "Horizon: An American Saga" will arrive in theaters shortly, here's a look at everything there is to know about the thoughtful Western epic.

On the surface, "Horizon: An American Saga" is a historical drama about the mass settlement of the American West — and the buildout of the United States — over a 15-year period just before and just after the Civil War. "America's expansion into the West was one that was fraught with peril and intrigue from the 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," co-writer, director, and star Kevin Costner told Deadline. "'Horizon' tells the story of that journey in an honest and forthcoming way, highlighting the points of view and consequences of the characters' life and death decisions."

"Horizon: An American Saga" isn't just about the "how" and "what" of the U.S., but also, according to Warner Bros.' first teaser trailer, "what it truly means to be the United States of America." And while the planned four-movie saga is set over a span of a decade and a half, the first two entries that will see a theatrical release in 2024 depict the years 1861 to 1865, the same years in which the American Civil War was fought.

The films won't provide a romanticized, male-focused version of history, as has often been the case with Westerns. "It's a really beautiful story; it's a hard story. It really involves a lot of women, to be honest," Costner told Variety. "There are a lot of men in it, too, but the women are really strong in 'Horizon.' It's just them trying to get by every day in a world that was impossibly tough."

Kevin Costner was among the most popular and bankable actors in Hollywood in the 1980s and early 1990s. After establishing himself as a leading man with classics and blockbusters like "The Untouchables," "Bull Durham," and "Field of Dreams," Costner successfully segued into work behind the camera. His 1990 feature directorial debut, "Dances With Wolves," won the Academy Award for best picture and the best director Oscar for Costner. He went on to helm 1997's "The Postman" and 2003's "Open Range," and so the first two "Horizon" films represent Costner's first directorial work in 20 years.

But "Horizon" predates all of Costner's directing pursuits. He's been slowly making creative progress on the saga since 1988, and he developed the screenplays for the first two films with Jon Baird. In 2015, Costner and Baird collaborated on the throwback adventure novel "The Explorers Guild," with the latter author also penning the books "Day Job" and "Songs from Nowhere Near the Heart." "Horizon" marks Baird's first narrative cinematic project.

"Horizon: An American Saga" is a Western, and that classic genre of cowboys, ranchers, and wide open spaces is one that's been very good to Kevin Costner. After falling out of popularity in the mid-20th century, Westerns enjoyed a revival thanks to the actor and filmmaker's efforts in films like "Silverado," "Dances With Wolves," and "Wyatt Earp." Of course, the Western's recent popularity owes a lot to the Paramount Network series "Yellowstone." The most-watched scripted show on all of TV in the 2022-2023 broadcast season, the drama about the familial, political, and territorial issues surrounding the Dutton Ranch returned Costner to Hollywood's A-list (and won him a Golden Globe). "Yellowstone" proved so popular that it afforded Costner the chance to make "Horizon: An American Saga" ... which in turn severely jeopardized the future of "Yellowstone."

Costner played John Dutton, sixth-generation rancher turned Montana governor, through five seasons of "Yellowstone." When producers opted to break up Season 5 of "Yellowstone" into two distinct parts, Costner was obligated to accommodate by changing the shooting schedule of "Horizon: An American Saga." Creative differences and professional issues like script delays led Costner to say he'd make himself available to film the first part of Season 5 of "Yellowstone" for just 65 days and later 50. For the second half of the season, he only wanted to shoot for a week. Due to this behind-the-scenes drama, Costner ultimately left the series, with creator Taylor Sheridan opting to end "Yellowstone" and move on to a sequel show without Costner and with Matthew McConaughey.