Five years have gone by since John Wick franchise director Chad Stahelski signed on to direct a reboot of the 1986 classic Highlander (watch it HERE). Six months have passed since we heard that The Witcher star Henry Cavill was “in talks” to star in the film. A reboot of the Highlander franchise has been in development hell for a long time now, but it appears that Stahelski and Cavill are the winning combination that are going to get it into production. The Hollywood Reporter recently conducted an interview with Cavill, and in their write-up they mention that he is scheduled to report to the Highlander set in 2022.
Next year he’ll shoot Highlander, a new version on the immortal swordsman action-fantasy (which sources say netted the actor at least a $5 million payday). Cavill says Stahelski’s vision is a more grounded-in-reality take than the original movies and show, and will likely play a bit more like a modern tragedy.
Attempts to get a new Highlander off the ground stretch back to 2008, and before Stahelski got involved the project had passed through the hands of directors Justin Lin, Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, and Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, while scripts had been written by the likes of Art Marcum and Matt Holloway, Melissa Rosenberg, and Ryan Condal. At one point, Ryan Reynolds was going to star in the film. At another, the producers were hoping Tom Cruise would be the lead. In the past, Dave Bautista and Vinnie Jones were on the wish list to play the villain so memorably played by Clancy Brown in the original, The Kurgan. We’ll have to wait and see who ends up playing The Kurgan opposite Cavill, if The Kurgan is in this version of the story at all.
Directed by Russell Mulcahy from a screenplay by Gregory Widen, Peter Bellwood, and Larry Ferguson, the original Highlander had the following synopsis:
When the mystical Russell Nash (Christopher Lambert) kills a man in a sword fight in a New York City parking lot, he leaves a sliver of an ancient weapon lodged in a car in the process. After brilliant forensics specialist Brenda Wyatt (Roxanne Hart) recovers evidence of the mysterious weapon, she and her partner, Lt. Frank Moran (Alan North), embark on an investigation of Nash that will land them in the middle of a dangerous, centuries-old feud between powerful immortals.
Cavill made the following statement when it was revealed he was in talks to star in the reboot:
I’ve been a fan of Highlander since I was lad. From the movies in all of their 80s, Queen slathered glory to the TV show with an actor who looked remarkably like one of my brothers. Being not shy with swords, and having a director as talented as Chad Stahelski at the helm, this is an opportunity like no other. Deep diving into franchise storytelling with all the tools at our disposal, is going to make this an adventure I (and hopefully all of you) shall never forget.
Neal H. Mortiz, Josh Davis, and David Leitch are producing the new Highlander, with Amanda Lewis, Patrick Wachsberger, and Gregory Widen executive producing.