Kevin Costner is ready to direct again for the first time since his 2003 critically acclaimed film, Open Range. The actor, who is currently starring as John Dutton in Yellowstone, will direct the western period film Horizon, set to begin production in August.
Costner will produce, finance and star in the film through his own production company, Territory Pictures. The movie is already drawing comparisons to Costner's 1990 film Dances With Wolves, which was nominated for 12 Academy Awards and won seven, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Film Editing, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Cinematography and Best Sound Mixing. It also won a Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture --Drama.
Kevin Costner Sets Late Summer Start For His Passion Film ?Horizon,? Epic Period Western https://t.co/RRwJjXceMs
— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) January 28, 2022
Read More: Kevin Costner's 11 Best Movies, Ranked
According to Deadline, the project has been in the works for years and will follow a 15-year span of post-Civil War expansion and settlement of the American West. The film is said to tell the story of settlers that make their way across America and the dangers they face in search of a prosperous life.
Speaking with Deadline, Costner stated, "America's expansion into the west was one that was fraught with peril and intrigue from the natural elements, to the interactions with the indigenous peoples who lived on the land, and the determination and at many times ruthlessness of those who sought to settle it. Horizon tells the story of that journey in an honest and forthcoming way, highlighting the points of view and consequences of the characters' life and death decisions."
Wes Bentley, Gil Birmingham, Kelly Reilly, Kevin Costner, Cole Hauser, Kelsey Asbille and Luke Grimes attends the Premiere Party For Paramount Network's "Yellowstone" Season 2 at Lombardi House on May 30, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images)
Official casting for the project is expected to begin in February.
Costner and the rest of the Yellowstone cast recently received their first SAG nomination for Best Ensemble. The fan-favorite Paramount+ series was also nominated for a Producers Guild of America award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television - Drama for its fourth season.
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