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As Chapter 1 of Kevin Costner’s epicWesterndramaHorizon: An American Sagarides toward its theatrical premiere on June 28,2024, it’s worth reminding viewers that the actor and Oscar-winning filmmaker knows the territory well. For instance, Costner’s 1990 WesternDances With Wolveswon Best Picture and Best Director at the 63rd Academy Awards. Over a decade later, Costner followed suit withOpen Range, an acclaimed Western action drama that he directed and starred in at the cost of working with popular filmmaker Quentin Tarantino.
In addition to nearly starring as the title character in Tarantino’s two-partKung-Fu revenge taleKill Bill, Costner almost worked with the director again a decade later inDjango Unchained. Both times, Costner would have played movie villains, going against type as the heroic protagonist most fans know and love him for. Costner departed the hit Western TV seriesYellowstoneto pursue his labor of love and makeHorizon, proving he has no qualms about walking away from successful projects when seen fit.WithHorizonon the brink, it’s time to reflect on Costner’s devotion to the Western genre by chronicling the times he almost worked with Quentin Tarantino in 2003 and 2012, respectively.
Horizon centers around fictional characters and takes place in pre- and post-Civil War America, and details the exploration of the American West. Depicting a twelve-year span, the movies feature an ensemble cast portraying various characters and their experiences pioneering into new territory from their homes.
What Is Open Rage About?
Released two months beforeKill Bill Vol. 1in August 2003,Open Rangeis arevisionist Western action filmdirected by and starring Kevin Costner. The story concerns Boss Spearman (Robert Duvall) and his two ranch hands, Charley (Costner) and Mose (Abraham Benrubi). As the trio crosses the American West to deliver cattle and stops to purchase supplies, they are besieged by the greedy landowner Baxter (Michael Gambon) and his hyper-violent henchman, Poole (James Russo). When Mose fails to return, Boss and Charley go on a daring search and rescue mission that ends with a harrowing showdown.
Open Rangewas a commercial and critical success, earning positive reviews (79% Rotten Tomatoes) and grossing $68.3 million internationally on a $22 million budget (via Box Office Mojo). Costner turned down the role of Bill inKill Billto direct and star inOpen Range, with the grand irony distinguished in the depiction of violence in each film.WhereasKill Billglorifies hyper-violence and revels in the bloodshed,Open Rangedeconstructs the necessity of violence in movie Westerns, which drew Costner to the film.
According to AMC TV, Costner grew up reading the Western novels by Lauran Paine, who publishedThe Open Range Menin 1990. According toOpen Rangescreenwriter Craig Stopper, the inspiration was to adapt the book and make a movie about,“The evolution of violence in the West. These characters don’t seek violence… But the notion that it’s sometimes necessary… is the Western’s most fundamental ideal.”
Why Did Kevin Costner Turn Down Quentin Tarantino and Kill Bill?
Released in October 2003,Kill Bill Vol 1is the first chapter in Quentin Tarantino’s bloody Kung-Fu revenge epic. The story concerns Beatrix Kiddo aka The Bride (Uma Thurman), a pregnant assassin assaulted and left for dead by killers hired by her lover and child’s father, Bill (David Carradine). The Bride slays a gauntlet of Bill’s henchmen before taking him one in a moonlit sword fight along the surf.Before Carradine was cast, Warren Beatty was Tarantino’s first choice to play Bill. When Beatty declined due to scheduling problems, Costner was considered next.
Despite expressing a desire to work with Tarantino, Costner turned down the role of Bill after the director offered him the part.Costner’s schedule was too busy to direct and star inOpen RangeandKill Billand opted to do the former.While both parts gave Costner plum acting roles, the ability to realize his creative vision as the director ofOpen Rangegave him more power, control, and artistic leeway than working as a mere actor for hire in someone else’s project.
Quentin Tarantino’s 20 Favorite Spaghetti Westerns
As the veil on Quentin Tarantino’s personal canon gets lifted, you will find just how much influence these 20 Spaghetti Westerns have on his works.
As a result, Costner chose to stay in the Western genre rather than work with Tarantino and the Kung-Fu realm for the first time. The deconstruction of Western violence inOpen Rangeas a last resort compared to the abject barbarism ofKill Billlikely played a role in Costner’s decision. However,Kill Billwasn’t the only time Costner nearly starred in a violent Tarantino revenge film. In 2012, Costner almost played the main villain’s inhumane sidekick, Ace Woody, inDjango Unchained.
Costner Almost Played Ace Woody in Tarantino’s Django Unchained
Nine years after nearly starring inKill Bill,Costner and Tarantino united forthe 2012 revisionist action WesternDjango Unchained. The movie follows Django (Jamie Foxx), an escaped slave in the Antebellum South who teams with a German bounty hunter (Christoph Waltz) to free his captured wife, Broomhilda (Kerry Washington). Costner was originally cast to play a villain named Ace Woody inDjango Unchained, a Mandingo instructor and the vicious henchman of Southern slave owner Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio).
Yet, despite expressing interest and entering negotiations to play the role of Ace Woody, Costner was forced to bow out due to scheduling conflicts on other projects, namelyMan of Steeland the History Channel miniseriesHatfields & McCoys.Hatfields & McCoysreunited Costner with Kevin Reynolds, the director ofFandango,Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves,and the ill-fatedWaterworld.As such, it’s no surprise that Costner would opt to reunite with his longtime collaborator despite the attraction of working with Tarantino and the star-studdedDjangocast.
Once Costner was forced to leaveDjango Unchained,Kurt Russell was cast in his place as Ace Woody. However,Tarantino cut the character from the script and combined Ace Woody with Billy Crash (Walton Goggins, above) to form a composite character.Russell would have reunited with Tarantino followingDeath Proof, but it was not to be. However, Russell starred as John “The Hangman” Ruth in Tarantino’s2015 Western movieThe Hateful Eightand played stunt coordinator Randy in Tarantino’s 2019Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Meanwhile, Costner and Tarantino have yet to work together despite showing mutual interest on two occasions.
While it’s possible that Costner was just as opposed to playing a disturbingly violent and vengeful character like Bill as he was Ace Woody (on top of scheduling obligations),Django Unchainedwon two Academy Awards, including Best Original Screenplay (Tarantino) and Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role (Waltz). Costner’s landmark WesternDances With Wolvesalso won two Oscars, with a glaring difference between the two movies depicted through their different philosophies on violence along the American frontier.
Costner adhered to a similar non-violent theme inOpen Rangeand is bound to continue the motif withHorizonin June 2024. Meanwhile, Tarantino has returned to the drawing board to rethink his tenth and final film after recently abandoningThe Film Critic.
Kill Billis available to stream on Netflix,Open Rangeis available to rent on Prime Video & Apple TV.
