Kevin Costner Wants To Direct 'A 10 Hour Western' Movie

Kevin Costner is best utilized as an actor these days, which is why it’s easy to forget that he’s also an Academy Award-winning director. A filmmaker with both Dances with Wolves and The Postman credited to his name, among others, his career behind the camera hasn’t been without high and low points, but he still has a couple of stories that he wants to tell. Notably, a 10 hour Western, which might live to see the light of day in the world of Peak Television, or might live inside the movie theater.

Costner hasn’t kept this project a secret. He’s mentioned it in the past and knows that its ambitious and lengthy, especially in a time when Westerns aren’t necessarily profitable. But he hasn’t pushed it aside, nor will he be giving up on it. Promoting his recently released Hidden Figures, the actor made this known about the project. He said “I’ve been working on it. It’s about 10 hours long, how about that? Maybe I’ll make three features out of it. There’s a fourth one, too, so it’s truly a saga. I could do TV, or I could also make it like every six months, have a big western that’s tied together like [Claude Berri’s 1986 film] Jean de Florette and [1987 film] Manon of the Spring. I think those are fun to watch.”

His goal would be to shoot it all at once, then release each chapter throughout one year’s time, i.e. the first one on Memorial Day, the second on Thanksgiving, the third on the Fourth of July, and so on and so forth. In the age of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and 2 or The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 and 2, that kind of idea isn’t unfounded, but it usually comes after some tested, fertile ground.  If this epic project doesn’t come to pass, however, Costner’s still intent on directing. As he told Vulture, he’s got another Western cooking in the back of his mind that he’d love to make.