Kevin Costner Enlists Ariel Vromen To Direct His “Longtime Passion Project,” Will Produce And Star In The Feature

EXCLUSIVE: After mounting the two-part Civil War epic Horizon: An American Saga for Warner Bros and New Line, Academy Award winner Kevin Costner has selected his next film to produce and star in, that being an as-yet-untitled picture that Ariel Vromen will direct from a script owned by the actor.

“I could not be more honored to be reunited with my friend and collaborator,” said Vromen in a statement to Deadline, “especially on Kevin’s longtime passion project.”

Pic’s plot is under wraps and further details are scarce, but production is expected to kick off in early 2025. This will be Costner and Vromen’s second film together, on the heels of the 2016 action thriller Criminal co-starring Gary Oldman and Tommy Lee Jones. News of the project comes as Vromen awaits the release of his latest, 1992 — a drama on the 1992 Los Angeles riots, starring Tyrese Gibson, Scott Eastwood and the late Ray Liotta, which will be distributed through Lionsgate.

Costner co-wrote, directed, produced and stars in Horizon, a multi-faceted chronicle spanning 15 years of pre- and post-Civil War expansion and settlement of the American West. In an unprecedented release strategy, the first film will hit theaters on June 28, with the second unspooling just seven weeks later, on August 16. The films shot back to back are Costner’s first behind the camera since 2003’s Open Range and have seen him reengage with a setting he mined with Dances with Wolves, his 1990 directorial debut which grossed over $424M worldwide and won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Director.

Most recently seen portraying Montana rancher John Dutton on Taylor Sheridan’s hugely popular Paramount+ series Yellowstone, which he also exec produces, Costner’s other recent film credits include The Highwaymen, Molly’s Game, Hidden Figures and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

Vromen broke out with the 2012 crime drama The Iceman, starring Michael Shannon, and also previously helmed Egyptian-Israeli spy thriller The Angel for Netflix.

Costner is represented by WME; Vromen by Independent Artist Group, Adventure Media and attorneys Dean Bahat and Ben Rubinfeld at Ziffren.