Kevin Costner could have called it in. Yellowstone, TV maven Taylor Sheridan's neo-Western melodrama on Paramount Network, was riding high in the ratings heading into 2023, and Costner had a strong platform as the protagonist.
However, during talks for season 6, the 69-year-old actor stepped away. He had other ambitions, like directing a four-part Western epic named Horizon.
Costner has blamed creative disputes with Paramount and Sheridan for alleged flare tensions on the Yellowstone set, but in the end, as he stated in a recent divorce court, he resigned due to schedule difficulties with his own film.
(The next time you don't want to follow through on previously established plans, feel free to cite this same reason.)
We'll soon discover if the risk and ensuing sensational Hollywood kerfuffle pay off; Horizon: An American Saga Chapters 1 and 2 will be released this summer.
Horizon, like Dances with Wolves and Open Range, reintroduces Costner to the role of director and star. The debut trailer for the double feature promises more of his signature Western style:
vast landscapes, gritty representations of the West, gunslinger shootouts, philosophical reflections on human nature, and plenty of horses.
But Costner hopes that the scope of his story will provide a fresh perspective on the American West. Or at least the American Western.