Highlander Reboot Cast, Director, And More Details
The 1980s was home to the birth of countless massive franchises that are still ongoing to this day. From "Terminator" to "A Nightmare on Elm Street," there is no shortage of beloved film series that came from the decade. However, one that's often forgotten amid the shuffle is "Highlander."
Starring Christopher Lambert, Sean Connery, and Clancy Brown, "Highlander" follows a race of elite warriors who can live forever so long as they aren't killed by decapitation. Spanning centuries, the story charts McLeod's (Lambert) life through medieval history and up until modern times, where the last of the Immortals are battling it out for a final reward.
While there have been rumblings for years about a possible reboot, it looks like the fresh take on "Highlander" could be arriving sooner rather than later. Furthermore, though much of the production is still shrouded in mystery, we do have plenty of details about the upcoming project to share with fans anticipating the franchise's return.
When will the Highlander reboot be released?
In November 2023, Joe Drake — the president of Lionsgate, which is the company distributing "Highlander" — had an investor call where he gave a quick update on the immortal action flick. According to Drake, they're hoping to release "Highlander" sometime in 2026.
According to Deadline, the film is set to have a budget of around $100 million, which suggests that the new version of "Highlander" will be a significantly larger production than the original film, which cost an estimated $16 million. Though the first movie didn't exactly do gangbusters at the box office, it did spawn a huge cult following that eventually paved the way for several sequels and even a few TV series.
Considering the fact that the new "Highlander" is thought to be the start of a new trilogy of films, Lionsgate is likely pinning a lot of hope on the fact that the fanbase has been as long-lived as the immortal warriors themselves. Either way, though, with some top-tier talent both in front of and behind the camera, the reboot is off to a pretty strong start.
Who is starring in the Highlander reboot?
Henry Cavill is said to be attached to the project and will likely play the lead role of Connor MacLeod, a Scottish warrior whose life is changed dramatically when he learns that he cannot die. Who will be taking on other chief roles like that of plucky swordsman Ramirez or sadistic killer The Kurgan isn't currently known.
Still, Cavill has more than proven his star power over the last decade and can easily be seen as enough of a draw himself to make viewers show up. After seeing his profile take a massive bump following his role as Superman in the DCEU, the actor has appeared in everything from "Mission: Impossible — Fallout" to Netflix's "Enola Holmes" movies.
Speaking of Netflix, Cavill also headlined the first three seasons of the dark fantasy series, "The Witcher." Though that story is set in a fictional world rather than our own, it does show that the actor easily fits the bill as a supernatural warrior, something that is very akin to the look and feel of the "Highlander" movies.
What is the plot of the Highlander reboot?
Speaking with the "Happy Sad Confused" podcast in April 2023, director Chad Stahelski delved into his vision for the upcoming "Highlander." For one, he plans to draw from the wider "Highlander" mythos, saying that while his adaptation "engages a ton of the same characters" from the film, he also plans to borrow inspiration from the "Highlander" TV series. The '90s show followed Connor MacLeod's clansman, Duncan, as he set off on adventures and battled various Immortals.
Stahelski also plans on taking his time before getting to The Gathering, which draws the Immortals into conflict with each other. As the director put it, "The trick is, when you have the tagline 'there can only be one,' you can't just kill everybody the first time." In order to slow things down, Stahelski has said they plan on doing a prequel approach, so they'll have plenty of time to build their world before the big showdown.
Of course, the thing Stahelski is really looking forward to is bringing in warriors from across history. As he said on the "Happy Sad Confused" podcast, "You can pick any period in time, any nationality, any culture, any type of person and make them an Immortal that have to duel and deal with the burden of immortality — that's f*****g cool to me."
Who is directing the Highlander reboot?
Chad Stahelski is currently attached as the director of the "Highlander" reboot. Action movie fans will likely recognize him as the director of all four "John Wick" movies, a factor that ought to more than prove his pedigree for creating exciting, fantastical action sequences.
While many fans have long joked that Baba Yaga (Keanu Reeves) is immortal in the "John Wick" films, Stahelski will now have the chance to play around with a character who really is nearly invincible. With that in mind, we can likely expect plenty of scenes of McLeod getting shot full of holes or sliced to ribbons only to keep on fighting bravely.
Stahelski is also a stunt coordinator who has worked on franchises like "The Hunger Games," "The Expendables," "The Matrix," and "Deadpool," a factor that only further proves his bonafides. With Stahelski describing the movie as "John Wick with swords," fans can likely buckle in for more of what makes them come back over and over again for the Reeves franchise, only with a bit of a different spin on it.
Who will be writing the Highlander reboot?
Michael Finch, who co-wrote "John Wick: Chapter 4," is said to be behind the current draft of the screenplay for the "Highlander" reboot. The writer previously worked on another reboot of a popular '80s franchise, "Predators," which was released back in 2010 to mixed reviews. Finch has also worked on several other action films, including "Hitman: Agent 47," "American Assassin," and "The November Man," to name a few.
All in all, despite the fact that we don't have a trailer or even a teaser for the "Highlander" reboot, the project still seems promising. For years, fans have been pining for a remake or reboot of the franchise, and now it looks like they're finally going to get one.
Though this is all the information that we have for the upcoming "Highlander" film at this point, we can likely expect more and more details to leak out about the project as time ticks away to 2024, when the film is expected to begin production.