Forgotten Kevin Costner Western whose set was burned down 13 years later for a Will Smith disaster

Westerns and Kevin Costner are a perfect combination. The Yellowstone series became a real phenomenon and with Horizon the star is currently creating the biggest Western epic of the decade. His directorial debut, Dances with Wolves, already showed how much the genre means to him.

Kevin Costner’s first Western role in Silverado, with which he made his breakthrough as a screen star in 1985, has been somewhat forgotten. But what very few fans know is that Silverado has a tragic connection to one of Will Smith’s biggest flops at all.

A legendary film town was built for the Kevin Costner western: A fire destroyed it

In the western Silverado, directed by Lawrence Kasdan, Kevin Costner plays the cowboy Jake, who sets off on a dangerous journey towards Silverado with three other gunslingers. On their adventure, the quartet must defend themselves against gangs of robbers and sinister landowners. However, the legacy of this western classic was indirectly destroyed 13 years later by Will Smith.

For the filming of Silverado, the US state of New Mexico an entire western town on the so-called Cook Ranch. The film set served as a backdrop for numerous Hollywood productions – until Wild Wild West was filmed there in 1998.

During the filming of the western flop, which Will Smith considers the biggest mistake of his career, an accident occurred. Unfortunately, it was not a giant robot spider that was to blame, but faulty pyrotechnics. A planned Explosion got out of control and destroyed a large part of the film city.

After this accident, the set was fortunately rebuilt. Under the new name Cerro Pelon Ranch, more blockbusters were filmed here in the years that followed and the film set was constantly expanded thanks to productions such as 3:10 to Yuma. Even scenes from the Marvel film Thor were filmed here.

Kevin Costner’s first Western: Where you can watch Silverado

You can currently watch the western film Silverado in streaming subscription on Netflix as well as Sky Go and WOW Alternatively, you can also buy and rent the film from other VoD providers such as Amazon Prime Video or Apple TV.

With an average rating of 7 out of 10 points, Silverado was voted third in the list of the best westerns starring Kevin Costner by the Moviepilot community – right behind Dances with Wolves and Open Range. That could change again with the launch of his western tetralogy Horizon.

Podcast: 8 brilliant westerns that are worth watching, and not just for Yellowstone fans

Whether thanks to series hits like Yellowstone and 1883 or Tarantino masterpieces like Django Unchained: the Western genre is experiencing a popularity like never before. For all fans, we have selected the best Westerns that you can stream right now.

The 8 Western highlights presented on Netflix, Amazon, Disney+ and MUBI include both absolute classics and lesser-known insider tips. There is something for every genre fan: Our recommendations cover a full 55 years of Western history between 1964 and 2019.