Kevin Costner Has Been Working on a 10-Hour Western That He Wants to Direct
Ever since Kevin Costner starred in the History Channel's Hatfields & McCoys, he saw a major boost in his career. It's been great to see him in the movies again, but one thing I'd love to see him get back into is directing. The last film he directed was Open Range, and that was 13 years ago. Before that, he directed The Postman and won an Acadamy Award for his directing work on Dances With Wolves in 1991.
It looks like we might actually get to see him direct again as he's been working on an ambitious 10 hour long western! This is a story that could be told over multiple films or a TV series. He told Variety:
"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."
I would love to see this happen! I'd like to think that Costner would give us something incredible and epic. One thing is for sure, Costner does intend to direct more. In a separate interview with Vulture, the filmmaker said:
"I have another Western I’ve co-written with some people, and I would like to play out the second half of my career directing more. I’ve constantly given the movies I’ve found to directors who I thought could do it better, but there are a lot of voices in my ear from my family saying, ‘You need to direct the movies you fall in love with.’ So I think I will."
Good. Costner has the talent and ability to create and tell stories that audiences will love. As a longtime fan of the western genre, I really hope that he gets to make these films sooner rather than later.