Going into the release of Horizon: An American Saga, it was pretty much a given that the first two chapters of Kevin Costner’s grand western epic were done and dusted. As both sit upon the 2024 movie schedule, and Chapter 1 has already been released, the last two chapters of Horizon are still in the works. As a fan of this series so far, that’s already an exciting prospect.
However, thanks to being present for the press day of Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1, I was clued into some details that seem to hint that Costner is still tweaking those final pieces to the puzzle. This only makes me more excited to keep up with the journey that started in theaters last weekend. And that’s even in spite of reports digging into Horizon’s “flop” status, in light of its opening grosses.
One set of those details came from Horizon star Abbey Lee, who plays the character Marigold. Seen hitting the trail with Hayes Ellison (Kevin Costner), in the hope of evading a group of men looking for her and the baby she’s been sworn to protect, her story ends in a rather unique spot in Chapter 1.
I won't spoil what happens here, but I will warn you that if you haven't seen Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1, part of what Abbey has to share is a bit spoiler-y. With that in mind, here's what the Mad Max: Fury Road alum had to tell CinemaBlend:
So far, all I know is where she gets to in Chapter 2, because Kevin’s very much working with me in a sort of on the toes way. As the films progress, he keeps throwing me into the films and building my character, which is an amazing thing to be a part of. ... But it’s very much similar to the first one, where she’s constantly abandoning people that she leans on to get somewhere, in the hope that she can free herself and be on her own. She’s kind of fighting to survive, and at the same time she just keeps trucking, she just keeps moving. She’s very much a woman who’s running from something and to something, and you see her keep doing that.
There’s a lot that we don’t know about Horizon’s four-movie plan, despite having a quarter of that story already laid out for us. It’s an understandable obstacle, as I noted in my Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1 review, as there’s no source material to tell us what to look forward to.
But hearing Abbey Lee tell me that Marigold is still up to her old tricks in Chapter 2 has me wondering what could possibly change in the story beats she encounters in Chapters 3 and 4. Hopefully, her tendency to pull up stakes at the first sign of trouble will be behind her at some point, perhaps leaving her able to trust people.
Seeing as this is a 15-year saga when all is said and done, that wouldn't be the strangest thing to hope for. This leads to the other huge tease I encountered during Horizon: An American Saga’s press day.
If you read my rundown about Sienna Miller and Sam Worthington’s Horizon romance, you’d know that this is one area I’m hoping is still evolving. Those hopes were especially sharpened after their statements on the matter of the sequels seemed to suggest there’s stormy weather ahead for Frances Kittredge and First Lt. Trent Gephardt.
Even in that particular sit down, Ms. Miller had her own encouraging words about where Horizon: Chapters 3 and 4 stood. Speaking to CinemaBlend in her interview, alongside Mr. Worthington, Sienna shared the following as her level of Horizon knowledge:
I was sent all four scripts from the offset, but I think that [Chapters 3 and 4] are really evolving. I think that they’re not completely locked. I imagine, knowing Kevin, that he’s probably tinkering here and there. But yeah, I have an idea of the journey.
“An idea of the journey” just might mean that there’s a pretty rigid structure in place for this 15-year epic, which will take us from the early days of the American Civil War’s formation to years beyond its resolution. While some are already calling a time of death on this would-be saga, I have my reasons for confidence in Horizon’s potential future.
A big part of that confidence is, admittedly, my own desire to see what happens next. Knowing that those final installments could still be finding their feet story-wise only makes me even more enthusiastic about the road ahead, as we're truly heading into uncharted territory.
Can Frances and Trent uncross their stars? Will Marigold learn not to flee, and instead stay and fight? Is Kevin Costner's recent appearances without his Hayes Ellison facial hair a sign he doesn't make it out of Horizon: Chapter 3 alive?
Those questions may not make sense if you haven't seen Horizon: Chapter 1 just yet. And at this point, I won't question why you haven't. Instead, I'll just say that you can easily meet Marigold, Frances, and the rest of Horizon: An American Saga’s cast of characters at a theater near you. Chapter 2 isn’t too far behind either, and August 16th’s sequel effort is definitely going to need audiences to be up and running on what’s going on; no matter how much may change in the future.
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