As Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 of Kevin Costner's planned Western drama film series, Horizon: An American Saga, near their summer releases, the Oscar-winning director is already planning the next installment. Reportedly, Costner is set to shoot Chapter 3 before the first two films air.

Per Puck, Chapter 3 of Horizon will begin principal photography before Chapter 1 hits theaters on Jun. 28, with the process likened to how The Lord of the Rings trilogy was shot. Costner and his creative team have recently been seeking extras to join the Horizon set in Durango, Colorado for a shoot on May 15, with The Durango Herald reporting they were looking for anywhere between 60 and 70 people. Per EW, new sneak peek images have also been revealed, which can be seen below.

Horizon is a well-known passion project of Costner, who first commissioned the idea in 1988, two years before his Academy Award-winning movie, Dances With Wolves. Costner approached Disney with the idea in 2003 after the release of Open Range before the project was finally greenlit in 2022, with Warner Bros. signing on to distribute the film series. Chapter 1 was filmed between August and November 2022, while Chapter 2 concluded shooting last summer. Chapter 3 was due to begin principal photography last year before the Hollywood strikes delayed production.

Kevin Costner Also Wrote and Produced Horizon

Costner also wrote and produced Horizon, which released its first trailer in January. Horizon chronicles the expansion of the American West during the Civil War era, boasting a star-studded cast including Avatar film franchise star Sam Worthington, Sienna Miller, Jena Malone, Giovanni Ribisi and Thomas Haden Church. Chapters 1 and 2 are part of a planned four-part film series for Horizon, with Costner stepping back into the Western genre after his Golden Globe-winning success in Yellowstone.

Costner will be traveling to France to plug Horizon at this month's Cannes Film Festival, with both movies premiering out-of-competition amid a lineup also including Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga and The Second Act. A statement from the festival describes the movie as a “monumental project about the cost, in terms of war and violence, of the construction and expansion of the United States of America.”

Reportedly, the four chapters in Horizon will have a collective runtime topping 11 hours, with Chapter 1 reportedly being 3 hours. The first two chapters cost around $100 million to make.

Chapter 1 opens in theaters on Jun. 28 while Chapter 2 premieres on Aug. 16.

Source: Puck