Kevin Costner’s Delayed ‘Yellowstone’ Replacement Officially Gets Devastating Update 2 Years Later

Kevin Costner’s Delayed Yellowstone Replacement Gets a Devastating Update

Kevin Costner’s Horizon: An American Saga was supposed to be his next great Western epic after Yellowstone. Instead, nearly two years after the first chapter arrived, the project remains stuck in one of the most difficult positions of Costner’s career.

To understand why the update is so damaging, it helps to go back to the beginning. Horizon was not designed as a normal movie. Costner imagined it as a sweeping multi-film saga about the expansion of the American West before and after the Civil War.

He co-wrote, directed, produced, and starred in the project, reportedly investing tens of millions of dollars of his own money into bringing the vision to life. (

The first installment, Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2024 before opening in theaters that June. But the release did not become the triumphant launch many expected.

The film drew mixed-to-poor reviews and struggled badly at the box office. It earned about $29 million domestically and roughly $38.7 million worldwide, a disappointing result for a project tied to a reported $100 million budget across the first two films.

The fallout was immediate. Chapter 2 had originally been scheduled for an August 16, 2024 theatrical release, but New Line Cinema pulled it from the calendar after the first film underperformed. At the time, the explanation was that audiences needed more time to discover Chapter 1 through digital platforms and streaming before the sequel arrived. But that delay has now stretched far longer than anyone expected.

Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2 has been seen by some audiences. It premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September 2024 and later screened at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. However, it still has not received a broad theatrical release, leaving the second chapter of Costner’s planned saga in limbo.

That is the devastating part of the update. This was not supposed to be a one-film experiment. Horizon was built to unfold across multiple chapters, with the first film serving as the opening movement of a much larger story. Instead, the saga stalled before general audiences could even see the second installment.

The situation has also become more complicated because of legal issues surrounding the production. In May 2025, stunt performer Devyn LaBella sued Costner and producers connected to Horizon: Chapter 2, alleging she was made to perform a violent, unscripted rape scene without proper notice, consent, or a required intimacy coordinator.

Costner’s attorney denied the allegations, saying they had “absolutely no merit,” and Costner later called the claims “absolutely false” in a court filing.

A separate lawsuit has also added pressure. In December 2025, Western Costume Leasing Company sued Costner and entities tied to the production, alleging unpaid costume rental fees related to Horizon: Chapter 2. The company sought more than $400,000, including unpaid invoices, damages, interest, and attorney fees.

Taken together, the weak box office performance, delayed release, and legal disputes have made the future of Horizon uncertain. Costner has remained publicly committed to the project, and there is no question that this is a deeply personal passion project for him. But passion alone does not solve distribution problems, financing challenges, or lawsuits.

That is why the comparison to Yellowstone is so painful. Costner left behind one of the biggest Western television franchises of the modern era, where John Dutton had become one of his defining roles. Horizon was positioned as the project that would allow him to continue shaping the Western genre on his own terms. Instead, it has become a cautionary tale about the risk of betting everything on an ambitious theatrical saga in a difficult movie market.

The cast of Horizon is impressive, with actors such as Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, Luke Wilson, Danny Huston, and others helping build Costner’s vision of the American frontier. But even strong performances and a grand concept have not been enough to overcome the project’s commercial struggles.

There may still be a path forward. Chapter 1 reportedly found more attention once it reached streaming audiences, and a delayed release for Chapter 2 could still happen under the right circumstances. Westerns can have long lives, especially when they are connected to a major star and a passionate fanbase. But as of now, the saga is no longer moving with the confidence it once had.

For Costner, Horizon was meant to be a legacy project.

At the moment, that legacy is unfinished.

And unless Chapter 2 finds a clear release strategy soon, Kevin Costner’s big Yellowstone replacement may remain trapped somewhere between ambition and uncertainty.