Kevin Costner on the Horizon story, violence in the Wild West and his plans after Yellowstone

Kevin Costner doesn’t do things by halves. He threw his extremely successful Yellowstone series to the wind to bring a four-part, probably twelve-hour-long Western epic to the cinema. The first part of this can now be seen with Admire Horizon in the cinema.

Kevin Costner talks about the western epic Horizon and the comparison to Yellowstone

It seems questionable whether Kevin Costner will ever complete his big passion project. Has he biggest mistake of his life made? Is he a stubborn loner, a western visionary or a Hollywood giant fighting a losing battle? According to our conversation, Costner is passionate about his characters. In the Moviepilot interview, he spoke about the Horizon story, the deplorable state of the western genre and the future of his epic saga.

Moviepilot: Horizon combines many stories, characters and fates. Has this larger framework been missing from the Western lately?

Kevin Costner: Yes, I think so. There have been some good films, but most of them are not about real situations. They are not about real behavior or real looks. Westerns are always seen as two-hour films, so their possibilities are limited. I think they can do more. That is why [die Horizon-Saga] also from four films.

Watch the trailer for Horizon here:

Your character Hayes Ellison reminded me of Clint Eastwood’s character in Unforgiven. Both seek peace but cannot escape the violence. Why is that?

Many men in the Wild West had experience with violence. But that doesn’t mean they want to be violent forever. The problem is that they have a reputation for being strong and capable. Not everyone in the Wild West killed. Those who did had skills that others wanted to use for their own ends.

Which films inspired Horizon?

There are films that inspire me. But here I had a different inspiration: I wanted people who have nothing to do with Westerns to come out of the cinema and think: ‘I understand these people. I understand a woman who feels so dirty that she has to take a bath. And in doing so, she puts herself and her fellow travelers in danger.’ I wanted viewers to say ‘Wow, I never thought about that.’

Of the characters in the film, I particularly liked the Sykes family. They are more like wolves than people. What is their role in the film?

They are a clan from the mountains. They are ruthless, rough and mean. Anyone who encounters them is destroyed. They were already in the original script in 1988. There too, they pursued [meine Figur] Hayes.

When will the sequels Horizon 3 and 4 be released?

I’ve started Horizon 3 and filming will continue in the spring. Maybe I’ll do part 4 at the same time.

Lately, many popular series have a western theme. What does Horizon give people that series like Yellowstone, Lawless or Deadwood can’t?

I don’t know, I don’t think so. I think [Serien und Filme] are what they need to be. All of these films end up on airplanes, on your iPhone, on your TV, on the video market and so on. I want my story to remain important to people. It has to be emotional. I think Horizon has triggered a lot of emotions in a lot of people.

Westerns are often a reflection on the American present. Has your view of America changed since your other westerns, Dances with Wolves and Open Range?

No. I just realized how unimaginably hard it must have been for the people to move west. In a small cart with everything they owned. Without knowing where they were actually going. Without knowing when they would get water next. And in the end they followed a lie.

Will we see this in Horizon 2?

The film will answer many questions. But not all of them.