Pulled Horizon 2 Release Was Reaction to Box Office

Kevin Costner spoke on the scrapped theatrical release of his second “Horizon” film on Saturday during its Venice Film Festival press conference, saying that “it probably was a reaction” to the underperformance of the first movie at the box office.

“It didn’t have overwhelming success,” Costner said of the first film. “I’ve had a lot of movies that way, that have stood the test of time.”

He added that it was a “studio decision” to release “Chapter Two” six weeks after “Chapter One,” and “it became a studio decision to not.” However, Costner asserted that it all worked out for the best because he got to screen “Horizon 2” at Venice.

“For me, it fell back into my plan, which was I always wanted to come out with movies about five-six months apart. And that was going to allow me to come to Venice,” he said. “I would have never come to Venice, because they won’t show the film here if it was already out.”

He thanked Venice artistic director Alberto Barbera for being “the biggest reason this happened.”

“Alberto bringing this here gave me my dream and didn’t allow it to be squashed,” he said, adding: “Fuck, Venice keeps coming to my rescue!”

“Horizon 2” was a last-minute addition to Venice’s lineup, with news coming on July 31 that it would premiere out-of-competition on the last day of the festival. Earlier that month, the U.S. release of “Chapter 2” was scrapped from its planned Aug. 16 debut after the franchise’s first installment, which carried a budget of around $100 million, earned only $11 million on its opening weekend.

However, these setbacks have only “increased his desire” to continue with what he intends to be a four-part series.

“Sometimes when things don’t come to us easily, we want to just step away. But there’s something in me that only increases my desire when something is not working,” Costner said. “It’s a story, it’s a piece of entertainment that I think can stand the test of time. When I feel rejection, unlike anybody else, when I open my eyes from my disappointment, my desire is only increased.”

When asked if “Horizon” contains a lesson for the current state of America as it heads into a presidential election, Costner said “it’s not a message politically to anyone.”

“‘Horizon’ is not a message to my country, it’s a reminder to my country of how difficult it was that people made this journey,” he said.

Costner again directs and stars in “Chapter Two,” with a returning cast consisting of Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, Jena Malone and Danny Huston. The film continues the events of the first chapter in the epic, which is described as a “multi-faceted depiction of the Civil War expansion and settlement of the American West.” In addition to directing and starring, Costner served as a co-writer with Jon Baird (“The Explorers Guild”) and produced through his Territory Pictures.

“Horizon” is intended as a four-part series, meaning that two more films are in development. Principal photography on “Chapter 3” began in May and is expected to wrap next year.

As the press conference wrapped, Costner said all of the “Horizon” films have been written and teased “Chapter 3” as “devastating.”

“You get to know all these people, and life keeps coming at them and you will see that,” he said.

Of making the third film, Costner said he has to “hurry and not let the rock fall back downhill, I gotta go put my hands on it again and start to push it up.”

However, the path ahead for “Horizon” still seems to be uncertain. “I don’t know how I’m going to make ‘Three’ right now,” he said. “But I’m going to make it.”