Warning: Mild SPOILERS lie ahead for Horizon: An American Saga — Chapters 1 & 2!
Summary
Luke Wilson returns to the Western genre, and is joined by a massive ensemble cast, including Isabelle Fuhrman and Ella Hunt, inHorizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1. Though born and raised in Texas alongside his actor brothers, Andrew and Owen, Wilson is primarily known for his work in the world of comedies, only occasionally appearing in the Western genre, including the Russell Crowe and Christian Bale-led3:10 to Yumaremake. Fuhrman, on the other hand, is best known for her work in the horror genre with theOrphanmovies, while Hunt is beloved in the zombie musical comedyAnna and the Apocalypseand Apple TV+‘sDickinson.
InHorizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1, Wilson, Fuhrman, and Hunt find themselves at the heart of one of the most treacherous aspects of the American West, playing a group of people on the Oregon Trail as they struggle with the elements in their hopes of building a new home for themselves. Wilson stars as Matthew Van Weyden, the reluctant captain of the caravan group, while Fuhrman stars as Diamond Kittredge, a young woman raised in a rougher environment by her father, Will Patton’s Owen, and Hunt stars as Juliette Chesney, a woman out of her element and used to a comfortable life with her husband.
Where To Watch Horizon: An American Saga - Showtimes & Streaming Status
Kevin Costner’s western epic is here, and there are options for where to watch Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1 in theaters or on streaming.
Alongside Wilson, Fuhrman, and Hunt, the ensembleHorizon: An American Sagacastincludes Kevin Costner, who also co-wrote and directed the first three of four planned installments in the franchise, Sienna Miller, Michael Rooker, Tatanka Means, Wasé Chief, and Jena Malone. With two films completed, Costner is currently in production on the third installment in the franchise, while a fourth film awaits greenlighting.
Prior to the movie’s release,Screen Rantinterviewed stars Luke Wilson, Isabelle Fuhrman, and Ella Hunt to discussHorizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1, how their characters reflect the various lifestyles of the American West, and how Costner made a last-minute change to Wilson’s character to set him up for further installments in the franchise.
Wilson’sHorizonRole Was A New Experience For The Texas-Born Actor
When Wilson was approached with the opportunity to star inHorizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1, he didn’t necessarily look to it as a return to the Western genre, feeling that his time on3:10 to Yumawas more something he “did for fun”, while acknowledging thatThe Ridiculous 6was a more comedic-driven affair. He does, however, still celebrate his work in Costner’s movie as being unlike anything he’s ever done before:
Luke Wilson: Yeah, I’ve never really done anything like this. 3:10 to Yuma, I just kind of did for fun, and played this small part of a guy that tortures Russell Crowe. I did do the Adam Sandler comedic Western, Ridiculous Six, so that was really fun. But yeah, never anything like this, never anything on such an epic scale, and I’d never worked with a director that was also acting in the film, and certainly had not worked with Kevin Costner. So, a very special opportunity for me.
Fuhrman & Hunt’s Journeys Are Only Just Getting Started InChapter 1
Unlike many prior efforts in the genre, Costner’sHorizon: An American Sagaoffers just as many compelling female characters as it does male, particularly those of Fuhrman’s Diamond and Hunt’s Juliette, coming from very different upbringings, even as they find themselves on a literal similar path. For Fuhrman and Hunt, they relished the opportunity to see so many strong women brought to the forefront of the franchise’s story, with the former teasing that their arcs are only just getting started inChapter 1:
I read all four scripts before I was cast, and I remember just being so floored by this character that he had written. She really grows through this journey West into the woman that she becomes. And because the saga spans 15 years, we start with Diamond at around 15-16, and she grows into a woman. To be able to show this journey, and how the characters that she meets along the way have affected who she has become in this world, I really just feel honored and excited to play with it.
To go back on set later this year with Kevin, and start working on the third one. We’ve already filmed little bits and pieces, but it really feels like you, as an actor, don’t get this opportunity to know where your character goes, and allows you to plant little Easter eggs from the get-go, which you don’t normally get the opportunity to do.
Ella Hunt: I was so excited by the distinctiveness of all of the women in these films, from Sienna to Jenna to Abbey to Wasé to Isabelle. They were all characters that I think I’ve been yearning to see in this space, and I often don’t feel very seen by the Western genre. I had no idea how much of a jewel, how much of a joy, making a Western could be, and how immersive it could feel. I was so excited to play this woman who, on the face of it, is challenging.
She can be difficult to love, she is really at odds with her environment. Some people have said she’s a princess, but she’s just trying to protect her husband. She has beliefs in values, and morality, and correct behavior, and she is tested by her journey. Ultimately, she is an extraordinary survivor, and to be able to play such a range of emotion and detail across the span of these films is so cool. Just so much fun for me and for all of us, I think.
What’s so exciting about getting to tell the story over a number of films is the detail that that allows for, and that we get to really zoom in on the intricacies of these people’s lives and their lives were anything but simple. There was so much detailed survival in that time, and even in the first film, we get this glimpse into what water means on the Oregon Trail, and how sparse it might be at different points in their journey. My character, Juliette, doesn’t really understand that at the beginning of her journey, and sort of unknowingly bathes in the bath water.
It’s this kind of beautiful moment of this woman who just desperately wants to wash off the dirt and challenge of her journey, and in this kind of almost beautiful moment, it turns very sinister when she is being spied on by these men who are on the journey with her. To me, it just sort of encapsulates the challenge and wonder of the time, and the naivety that all of these people embarking on these journeys had. We didn’t have Google. They didn’t know what they were going to.
Wilson’sHorizonFate Got A Last-Minute Change From Costner
While the first movie may only be getting things started for most of its characters,their fates beyondHorizon: An American Saga — Chapter 2remain unknown as story details remain under wraps for it and the remaining two other installments. Wilson, however, reveals that his character was initially not intended to go beyond the second movie, until getting a recent call from Costner for a late change in the plan for Van Weyden:
Luke Wilson: Yeah, that’s a good question. It was really interesting, and for me, I just had read the first two scripts when I got hired. Far as I knew, at the end of the second chapter, my last day of work, I was trying to figure out, “Was my character, Van Weyden, gonna be around or not?” I didn’t want to be asking people, “Hey, do I make it? Am I alive? Am I there?” [Chuckles]
But then, the last day of work, my last day of shooting, Kevin said, “Okay, so, you ride out of here, and you go to the next town of Union.” I thought, “Okay, Union, that’s not bad. That’s close to Horizon.” He said, “But there’s nothing for you there. You have a family, and you go on to California,” and I’m like, “California, what?” “You gotta go to the Mojave to get there.” And I was like, “The f—ing Mojave?” And then he walked away, so that was it for me. [Chuckles]
But then, this spring, I got a call from Kevin saying, “I think I’ve figured out a way to bring your character, Van Weyden, back. Is that something you’d want to do?” And I said the same thing when he hired me the first time, I said, “Hell yeah.”
AboutHorizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1
Academy Award-winning visionary filmmaker Kevin Costner directs New Line Cinema’s epic Horizon: An American Saga Chapters I and II, a multi-faceted chronicle covering the Civil War expansion and settlement of the American West. A story of America too big for one film, this true cinematic event also stars Costner, who co-writes with Jon Baird (“The Explorers Guild”) and produces through his Territory Pictures.
In the great tradition of Warner Bros. Pictures’ iconic Westerns, Horizon: An American Saga explores the lure of the Old West and how it was won — and lost — through the blood, sweat and tears of many. Spanning the four years of the Civil War, from 1861 to 1865, Costner’s ambitious cinematic adventure will take audiences on an emotional journey across a country at war with itself, experienced through the lens of families, friends and foes all attempting to discover what it truly means to be the
United States of America.
Costner, Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington and Giovanni Ribisi star alongside an impressive ensemble cast that includes Abbey Lee, Will Patton, Jena Malone, Michael Rooker, Danny Huston, Luke Wilson, Jeff Fahey, Isabelle Fuhrman, Ella Hunt, David O’Hara, Owen Crow Shoe, Tatanka Means, Tim Guinee, Scott Haze, Tom Payne, Alejandro Edda, James Russo, Jon Beavers, Jaime Campbell Bower, and Michael Anganaro, and more.
Check out our otherHorizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1interviews with:
Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1
Cast
Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1 is set in 1859, following families as they settle in territories from Wyoming to Kansas. The narrative centers around a cowboy on the run with a prostitute and a young boy after a deadly confrontation, exploring the challenges of life in the Old West.
