The second installment of Kevin Costner’s western will have its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September, organizers announced Wednesday.
Chapter 2 of Horizon: An American Saga was originally scheduled to be released theatrically in North America on August 16, but was pulled after the film underperformed at the box office. Chapter 1.
The sequel to the western epic will be presented out of competition in Venice on September 7, the last day of the festival, together with the screening of the first part.
Kevin Costner said in a statement that his “dream” had always been to screen the second chapter in Venice, while the first had its world premiere at Cannes in May.
Alberto Barbera, director of the Venice Film Festival, described it as “the visionary project of a great actor and director, who has invested himself in the epic reconstruction of the crucial years for the founding of the country, digging beyond the myth in search of an authenticity capable of restoring a piece of history in its complex and contradictory reality.”
The back-to-back release of the two films, one in June and the other in August, was already unconventional. Then, the first chapter only grossed $23 million in its first two weeks of theatrical release. In announcing the change of plans, New Line Cinema said it hoped to give more time for more audiences to experience the first chapter.
Costner has invested some of his own money in making these ambitious films, which have fascinated him for more than thirty years. He has already started shooting a third part of what he eventually plans to be a tetralogy.
“I am indebted to Alberto Barbera for his courage and leadership in embarking on this cinematic journey,” Costner said. “Long live cinema and those who want to defend it.”
The 81e edition of the Venice Film Festival opens on August 28. Among the most anticipated world premieres are Joker: Madness for Twoagain with Joaquin Phoenix, Beetlejuice Beetlejuicestill by Tim Burton, Mariawith Angelina Jolie in the role of Callas, Queerby Luca Guadagnino, with Daniel Craig, The Orderby Yorgos Lanthimos, The Room Next Doorby Pedro Almodóvar, Three friendsby Emmanuel Mouret, and Baby Girlby Sofia Coppola, with Nicole Kidman.