Let’s be real for a second. If you’re here, you probably spent three hours watching Kevin Costner stare pensively at a sunset in Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1, and now you're wondering where the rest of the story went. You aren't alone. It’s early 2026, and the question of when does horizon chapter 2 come out has become a bit of a Hollywood ghost story.
The short answer? It’s complicated.
The movie is finished. It exists. People have actually seen it. It premiered at the Venice Film Festival way back in September 2024 and even had a screening at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival in February 2025. Yet, here we are, and you still can't find it on Max, Netflix, or at your local multiplex.
The Release Date That Vanished
Originally, the plan was bold. Some might say crazy. Warner Bros. and Costner’s Territory Pictures wanted to release Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 just six weeks apart in the summer of 2024. It was supposed to be the "event of the summer" for people who miss the old-school, sprawling Westerns of the 90s.
Then June happened.
Chapter 1 hit theaters and, to put it bluntly, it didn't exactly set the world on fire. It grossed about $38 million against a massive $100 million production budget. When the first part of a four-part saga underperforms that hard, the people holding the purse strings get twitchy. Warner Bros. pulled the August 16, 2024, release date for Chapter 2 just weeks before it was supposed to drop.
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They said they wanted to give audiences more time to "discover" the first film on streaming. A nice way of saying they didn't want to throw good money after bad marketing.
Current Status: The 2026 Reality
As of right now, Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2 does not have a confirmed theatrical release date. The situation has shifted from a simple delay to a full-blown legal and financial quagmire. Recent reports from late 2025 and early 2026 suggest that Kevin Costner’s Territory Pictures is locked in arbitration with bondholders and distributors. There’s a lot of "he said, she said" involving City National Bank and Warner Bros. about who owes what and who gets to decide how the movie is released.
- The Streaming Rumors: There’s been talk about Chapter 2 skipping theaters entirely and going straight to Max or even Netflix, where the first film actually found a massive audience.
- The "Costner Factor": Kevin is stubborn. He put roughly $38 million of his own money into this project. He wants it on the big screen. He’s been vocal about the fact that he didn't make these for a "phone screen."
- The Spring 2026 Window: Industry insiders are whispering that if the legal issues settle by March, we might see a limited theatrical run in late spring 2026, followed immediately by a streaming debut.
Why the Delay is Actually Helping (Sort Of)
Honestly, the delay might be the only thing that saves the franchise. When Chapter 1 hit Netflix in early 2025, it exploded. It turns out that a three-hour Western is a much easier "sell" when people can watch it from their couch and pause it to make a sandwich.
By holding back Chapter 2, the studio is letting that "Netflix effect" simmer. They’re betting that the millions of people who discovered the saga at home will be hungry enough for the sequel to actually buy a ticket this time.
But there's a catch.
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Costner originally planned for four movies. He already shot about nine days of Chapter 3 before the money dried up. If Chapter 2 stays in the vault too long, the actors get older, the sets get torn down, and the momentum dies. It's a race against time and interest.
What We Know About Chapter 2's Content
If you're worried that the wait won't be worth it, the early reviews from Venice were actually quite a bit more positive than the ones for the first film. While Chapter 1 felt like a very long prologue—basically three hours of moving chess pieces into place—Chapter 2 is reportedly where the action actually kicks in.
- More Hayes Ellison: Costner’s character takes a much more central role.
- The Civil War: The conflict moves from the background to the foreground.
- Returning Cast: Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, and Giovanni Ribisi all have meatier arcs here.
- Runtime: Brace yourself. It’s another 190-minute epic.
The "Yellowstone" Shadow
You can't talk about the Horizon release without talking about Yellowstone. The drama behind the scenes—Costner leaving the most popular show on TV to make these movies—created a weird kind of "schadenfreude" in Hollywood. Some people wanted this to fail just because of the drama.
Now that Yellowstone has moved on and Costner is focused entirely on his "private UFO" (as he calls Horizon), the air has cleared a bit. People are judging the movies more on their own merits and less on the tabloid headlines.
What You Should Do Now
If you're tired of checking Google every morning for a release date, here is the most realistic path forward.
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Watch the trades, not the rumors. Look for news regarding the "Discovery Hearing" scheduled for March 2026. This legal meeting between Costner’s team and the bank will likely determine the fate of the film. If they settle, expect a trailer within 48 hours.
Keep an eye on Max. Warner Bros. still holds the distribution rights for streaming. If a deal is struck where the movie bypasses theaters, it will show up there first.
Don't hold your breath for Chapters 3 and 4. While Costner says he’s determined to finish the saga even if he has to sell his houses, Chapter 2 has to come out—and make money—before a camera rolls on the rest of the story.
The "Horizon" experiment is a massive gamble on the idea that the American Western isn't dead. Whether we actually get to see the end of that gamble depends on a bunch of lawyers in a boardroom right now.
Actionable Insights for Horizon Fans:
- Check the Warner Bros. official press site once a month; they usually drop schedule updates on Friday afternoons.
- If you haven't seen the first one, watch it on Netflix now; higher streaming numbers are the best leverage Costner has to get the sequel released.
- Ignore "leaked" release dates on social media; until you see a trailer with a date at the end, it's all speculation.
The saga of getting this movie into theaters is starting to look as long and difficult as the trek across the frontier itself. But for those who loved the first installment, the wait for when does horizon chapter 2 come out is just part of the journey.