Kevin Costner is no stranger to skeptics—but he’s also no stranger to legacy. As Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2 moves from its planned theatrical release into a world premiere slot at the Venice Film Festival, the Oscar-winning actor-director isn’t discouraged. In fact, he’s energized. With a cup of Green Mountain coffee in hand and decades of cinematic experience behind him, Costner speaks candidly about the roadblocks, the payoff, and why box office numbers are never the point when he’s building something to last.
A detour becomes a dream realized
When New Line Cinema and Territory Pictures announced that Horizon: Chapter 2 would be pulled from its August theatrical release in favor of giving Chapter 1 more breathing room, some saw it as a retreat. Costner didn’t. “They might point to the finish line—‘this is what it did at the box office’—but I know that this movie is going to play for the next 50 years,” he told E! News.
He sees the move not as a setback, but a realignment with the vision he had all along: “I never imagined [the releases] six weeks apart… it was always four months, or six months.” And now, with Chapter 2 debuting alongside Chapter 1 at the Venice Film Festival this September, Costner finds himself exactly where he wanted to be. “They understand that it’s a saga,” he said. “That part is exactly how I imagined it.”
Legacy over numbers
If critics and execs were skeptical about Field of Dreams back in 1989, Costner has learned to stay the course. “It was so dismissive, that Field of Dreams would fade immediately,” he recalled. But it didn’t. “Men and women, sons and daughters—it’s stood the time of decades. That’s how I try to make movies. That’s what I see for Horizon.”
It’s that belief in endurance that’s carried him through a multi-decade dream project. He famously invested $38 million of his own money to make Chapter 1 a reality and walked away from Yellowstone to do it. “I don’t really fall out of love with something I feel strongly about,” he explained. “Until somebody convinces me otherwise… that doesn’t happen.”
Not just a western an American saga
For Costner, Horizon is more than a return to the Western genre—it’s a reflection on American identity and the raw realities of expansion. “It’s not just a western, it’s a history of migration and what they had to do to survive,” he said. “These towns that exist… there was a moment in time when a single stake went in the ground. And that ground belonged to an indigenous population that didn’t want them.”
The films don’t glamorize history—they engage with it. And as Costner himself notes, there’s a moment in life when you’ll want your children to see these stories, “to understand what their ancestors went through.” He’s building a saga with generational impact in mind, not short-term metrics.
A proud director and father
As a director, Costner is glowing about his ensemble cast—particularly Sienna Miller, Jena Malone, and Abbey Lee, whom he says “jumped off the screen” in Chapter 1 and will “do even more so” in Chapter 2. But perhaps the most meaningful collaboration was with his 15-year-old son, Hayes, who plays a small but emotional role in the film.
Costner, a father of seven, beams when talking about the experience of having his children support him on the red carpet. “I love having him with me,” he said, referencing the possibility that Hayes might join him in Venice. But he adds with a smile, “He’ll have to make a convincing case to miss four days of school.” If you’re wondering what’s fueling Costner through it all, the answer might lie in his new partnership with Green Mountain Coffee Roasters. With his own Horizon Blend dark roast and a mocha latte variant that reflects his personal taste (“I throw junk in it—chocolate and things like that”), the coffee collaboration is more than a brand deal. “It’s important to me to have a level of authenticity with anything I do,” he said.
And yet, coffee is just the beginning. “Sometimes morning coffee gets me going in the right place. Sometimes, no matter how good the coffee is, the problems are still there when I’m done,” he laughed. “But there are moments that it becomes incredibly satisfying… when I think of something new under pressure, that no one had thought of—that’s when I feel like I earned my dough today.”
The story continues
With Chapter 2 about to make its international debut and two more installments in the pipeline, Kevin Costner isn’t winding down—he’s just hitting stride. “It’s really hard to make a good western,” he admitted. But that hasn’t stopped him from trying, with every ounce of conviction and grit he’s poured into this saga.
It’s not about quick wins. It’s about the long view. The quiet persistence. The belief that something meaningful, if you build it, will come—and stay. For Costner, Horizon is already a field of dreams. The rest of the world is just catching up.
