We Won’t Have To Wait Long for ‘Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2’

Kevin Costner’s latest cinematic enterprise has begun, with Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 having reared its head last Friday

The film is the first in a tetralogy’s-worth of Western epics directed, co-written, produced by, and starring Costner, and suffice to say he hasn’t exactly put his best foot forward with Chapter 1. Indeed, the cast is committed enough, but Horizon doesn’t seem to have the first clue about treading dramatic water without melodrama, nor does it seem to realize that threading together the stories of all these characters can go very poorly if you’re not extremely careful about plotting (Chapter 1 was not, in fact, extremely careful about plotting).

We can only hope that Chapter 2 fares a bit better, because it’s everyone’s victory when original art sticks the landing in a market like this. One way or the other, we won’t have to wait terribly long to find out if it will.

When does Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2 release?

Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2 is due out in theaters on August 16 later this year. Elsewhere, the third film in the series began principal photography back in May, while the fourth and final film is in development.

Chapter 1 is set in the year 1863, against the backdrop of the American Civil War, and follows the plights of a variety of figures—from horse traders to military personnel to Apache warriors—as they assist, contend with, and wage war against one another in hopes of finding sanctuary in the Old West.

At the time of writing, Chapter 1 has grossed $15.2 million against a reported budget of $50-100 million, and so far boasts a 46 percent critic approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with a 71 percent audience approval rating to go with it.

Its three-hour runtime has surely done no favors to either of those endeavors, but hopefully Chapter 2‘s slightly more digestible two hours and 44 minutes isn’t the only upgrade from Chapter 1 we see.