Kevin Costner hosting Kevin Costner’s The WestImage via The History Channel
Kevin Costner continues his struggle to mount his costly four-part Western series Horizon: An American Saga. Despite recent setbacks that led to shelving the completed second installment, Costner — an Oscar-winning director and star — knows his way around a troubled production. Following the success of his epic Dances with Wolves, Costner found himself at the pinnacle of his career, both as a filmmaker and an actor. He set about working on a string of mega-budget projects, several of which did very well. For some time, thanks to hits such as Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, The Bodyguard, and JFK, it seemed like Costner’s winning streak would never end. But things took a turn for the worse in 1994, and then spiraled out of control not long afterward. One of Costner’s most infamous box-office disasters is currently streaming on Netflix in the United States, but only for a little while longer.
Costner’s first setback following the success of Dances with Wolves came in the form of Wyatt Earp, a 190-minute Western epic that grossed only $55 million worldwide against a reported budget of more than $60 million. In 1997, Costner directed and starred in the dystopian epic The Postman, which grossed just $30 million worldwide against a reported budget of $80 million. Sandwiched between these two movies was a box-office misfire of catastrophic proportions. The movie in question suffered major production difficulties, which led to its budget ballooning to $175 million — a record for the time.
Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars
Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you’d actually make it out of alive.
💊The Matrix
🔥Mad Max
🌧️Blade Runner
🏜️Dune
🚀Star Wars
01
You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one.
02
In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.
03
What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.
04
How do you deal with authority you don’t trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.
05
Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn’t just tactical — it’s physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.
06
Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.
07
Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they’re actually made of.
08
What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.
Your Fate Has Been Calculated You’d Survive In…
Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.
The Resistance, Zion
The Matrix
You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You’re a systems thinker who can’t help but notice the seams in things.
You’re drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
You’d find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines’ worst nightmare.
You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
The Matrix built an airtight prison. You’d be the one probing the walls for the door.
The Wasteland
Mad Max
The wasteland doesn’t reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That’s you.
You don’t need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you’re good at all three.
You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.
Los Angeles, 2049
Blade Runner
You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.
You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
You’re not a hero. But you’re not lost, either.
In Blade Runner’s world, that distinction is everything.
Arrakis
Dune
Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.
Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they’re survival tools.
You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You’d learn its logic and earn its respect.
In time, you wouldn’t just survive Arrakis — you’d begin to reshape it.
A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Star Wars
The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn’t have it any other way.
You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
You’d gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire’s grip can be broken.
You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn’t something you’re capable of.
In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.
Watch Kevin Costner’s Post-Apocalyptic Epic Before It Disappears
We’re talking, of course, about Costner’s Mad Max-style post-apocalyptic film Waterworld. Directed by his frequent collaborator Kevin Reynolds, Waterworld grossed $264 million globally — not nearly enough to recover its inflated cost of production, distribution, and promotion — and received mixed reviews. It now holds a 61% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, where the consensus reads, “Though it suffered from toxic buzz at the time of its release, Waterworld is ultimately an ambitious misfire: an extravagant sci-fi flick with some decent moments and a lot of silly ones.” You can watch the movie on Netflix until August 31. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
