Kevin Costner made a big bet to bring Horizon: an American saga to the big screen. The acclaimed actor has left behind his iconic role as John Dutton in the hit TV series, yellow stoneto film his epic Western film, a project that cost a lot of time, money and energy, with surprisingly little recognition. The first installment of the four-part franchise failed financially and received mixed reviews from critics. With a reported budget of $100 million (combined with its sequel), Horizon – Chapter 1 drastically underperformed at the box office, grossing just over $38 million in its summer theatrical run.
Some Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 1 Reviews were sympathetic to Costner’s vision, praising the visual storytelling, action set pieces, and intimate character development. Still, there was a general recognition that some of the supporting characters in Horizon: an American saga needed to be developed and that the script itself left a lot to be desired. However, one of the most fatal flaws in Horizon is the timeline Costner created for his Western world. The period piece incorporates time jumps that are not necessarily clearly marked on screen, and as such some viewers may need clarification.
Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 begins in 1859
Kevin Costner’s Western moves forward in time very quickly
The schedule for the first part of Horizon franchise covers a period of four yearsstarting in 1859, before quickly moving forward to 1863, placing the audience right in the center of the American Civil War. The film only spends a brief but very significant period of time in 1859, with the dominant portion of this epic Kevin Costner Western spent in 1863, meeting several different characters as they cross paths in several different locations.
Horizonte was built in 1859
The film’s opening shows two different groups of surveyors arriving in Arizona’s San Pedro Valley. The two parties claim separate sections of land on each side of the San Pedro River and begin laying out plans and foundations for the border town that would soon be known as Horizon.
However, shortly after, a missionary named Desmarais shows up expecting to see a flourishing community and instead finds the butchered bodies of the three founding citizens, who were attacked by a Western Apache warband. Desmarais pays tribute to the three victims, buries their bodies, and takes responsibility for completing his work and bringing Horizon to life.
Things get a little confusing for Horizon in 1863
Fast forward four years and things look very different in Horizon. The 1863 time period features perhaps the best scene in the entire film, when the densely populated titular settlement is raided by an Apache group led by the ambitious and ruthless Pionsenay, leading to several deaths in a bloody and thrilling sequence. The crux of this event is the murder of the husband and son of Frances Kittredge (played by Sienna Miller).
Later, Frances and her daughter, Elizabeth, are found among the rubble by the United States Union Cavalry and Infantry, led by Lieutenant Gephardt and Sgt. Major Riordan (Sam Worthington and Michael Rooker, respectively). While the dead are buried, Frances and Elizabeth travel with the Cavalry to Camp Gallant, where the widow begins a romance with Gephardt.
Numerous different stories unfold in Horizon: an American saga From here on, everything is set in 1863. This includes Lucy flying to Montana with her son Sam after shooting the abusive James Sykes, taking on a new life as Ellen Harvey, and marrying local businessman Walter. Her peaceful existence is disturbed, however, when the maniacal Sykes brothers, Caleb and Junior, catch up with her seeking revenge.
Fortunately, Hayes Ellison (Kevin Costner) is in town and befriends Marigold, a prostitute who lives with Ellen and Walter. Hayes kills Caleb and helps Marigold escape, with the pair settling in a railroad work camp for a while, and although they are romantically involved, Marigold eventually leaves the old cowboy when she meets a wealthy traveling gambler.
Meanwhile, a wagon trail runs along the Santa Fe Trail, with Horizon as the final destination, introducing audiences to a series of characters that will no doubt be expanded upon in Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2. And, at a trading post, Pionsenay, the Apache responsible for the terrible attack at the beginning of the film, is tracked by Russell, a survivor of the attack. But when this hunt was unsuccessful, Russell and his accomplice, Elias Janney, ruined a nearby Apache villagebrutally killing women and children.
Horizon: An American – Chapter 2 Deadline Explained
The Horizon sequel should make everything clearer
THE Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 the ending leads directly into the events of the second installment and promises to unify all of these complex stories as all the characters converge in the city of Horizon. The film was supposed to be released just a few months after its predecessor, but was pushed back to a 2025 release.
This sequel has a lot of work to do in bringing together the variety of characters, and as such, there isn’t as much of a time jump as the narrative threads start to intertwine and hopefully make a lot more sense to viewers. Chapter 2the ending takes us to the end of the American Civil War, ending in 1865 as the saga eagerly awaits the third episode of the series.
Kevin Costner’s Horizon: An American Saga Will Last a Period of 15 Years
Three more Horizon films are still to come, if Costner gets his way
The plan is for Costner to do four Horizon films, and Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 3 began filming in July 2024, but the first installment’s disappointing performance left the franchise in doubt. It remains to be seen whether the quadrilogy will actually see the light of day, but one thing that is known is that the entire Horizon series will span a total period of 15 yearswhich means we should arrive approximately at 1874 in the concluding chapter.
This means viewers will see the aftermath of the American Civil War. The country entered the Reconstruction era beginning in 1865, which was a period of great political, legal, and social upheaval. This fascinating period in history will most likely form the basis of the plot in Horizon: an American saga – Chapter 3 and Chapter 4.