Kevin Costner envisioned Horizon: An American Saga as a four-part Western epic. He directed, co-wrote, starred in, and poured at least $38 million of his own money into the project — mortgaging his Santa Barbara property and deferring his salary. Chapter 1, with a $100 million budget, opened in June 2024 to just $12 million in its opening weekend ($38M total domestic). Chapter 2 was pulled from its August 2024 release. Chapter 3 filming was halted. Chapter 4 remains unfinanced.
As the saga collapsed commercially, the lawsuits piled up. Here's every active case on the Horizon docket:
Stunt performer Devyn LaBella, lead stunt double for actress Ella Hunt, sued Costner in May 2025 alleging she was forced to perform an unscripted rape scene on the set of Horizon 2 without advance warning, consent, choreography, or an intimacy coordinator present — in violation of SAG-AFTRA protocols.
According to the complaint, Hunt refused to perform the scene and LaBella was brought in as a stand-in. She alleges a male actor was directed to pin her down, straddle her, and violently rake up her skirt on an open set. The film's own intimacy coordinator later documented violations of union rules.
Costner's attorney Marty Singer called the claims "absolutely false" and labeled LaBella a "serial accuser," producing a post-shoot text in which she thanked the stunt coordinator. In October 2025, Judge Jon Takasugi denied Costner's anti-SLAPP motion to dismiss, finding the claims have sufficient merit to proceed. The judge acknowledged that a reasonable person in the same position could find the experience constituted a hostile work environment. Two of ten claims were dismissed; eight survive including sexual discrimination, harassment, and failure to prevent.
City National Bank initiated arbitration proceedings against both New Line Cinema (a Warner Bros. company) and Costner's Horizon Series over their co-financing agreement for the Horizon films. The bank contends it is still owed additional funds.
New Line responded by filing a crossclaim against Horizon Series, alleging Costner's company failed to contribute its required portion of the financing. New Line claims it covered more than its share when Costner's side fell short. The dispute highlights the financial strain behind a production where Costner was scrambling for funding, publicly calling on billionaires to invest.
Western Costume Leasing Company filed a breach of contract lawsuit in December 2025 in L.A. Superior Court, seeking roughly $440,000 for unpaid costume rental fees on Horizon Chapter 2. The complaint alleges the production racked up a $134,000+ bill, failed to pay multiple invoices, and returned costumes in damaged condition. This was the second costume-related suit — an earlier claim by United Costume Corporation for ~$350,000 across Chapters 1 and 2 was settled earlier in 2025.
United Costume Corporation sued Horizon Series in May 2025 for ~$350,000 in unpaid costume rental fees spanning both Chapter 1 and Chapter 2. The case was settled earlier in 2025, but the filing reinforced the public appearance of serious budget shortfalls across the production.
The Horizon lawsuits collectively paint a picture of an ambitious vanity project buckling under financial and ethical pressure. The LaBella case could set precedent for how intimacy protocols and SAG-AFTRA safety rules are enforced on independent productions — and whether directors can invoke creative expression as a defense for unscripted sexual content. The financing disputes expose the risks of self-funded mega-productions outside the studio system. With Chapter 2 unreleased, Chapter 3 unfinished, and Chapter 4 nonexistent, the four-part vision now appears dead — and the legal fallout may outlast the films themselves.