There can be only one…
…and apparently Tom Cruise is the one that Summit Entertainment wants for their HIGHLANDER reboot, according to the Wrap.
That's right. Hollywood heavyweight Tom Cruise is being courted for the mentor role in Cedric Nicolas-Troyan's reboot of the classic 1986 film. You'll recall that the mentor role of Juan Ramirez in Russell Mulcahy's original film was portrayed by Sean Connery, and should Cruise decide to engage with the project, it's possible that the mentor role could be beefed up to accommodate a star of his magnitude.
It should be noted that the interest appears to be one-sided at this time, as Cruise has been busy shooting MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 5 and isn't focused on future projects at the moment. A representative for Cruise did confirm that HIGHLANDER is “is one of many projects that come to him (Cruise)" and that talks haven't even begun. An insider with the production echoed that Summit “is not in negotiations with Tom Cruise”, though they didn't deny that he was the studio's choice to co-star.
Cedric Nicolas-Troyan is set to make his feature directorial debut on HIGHLANDER, which follows…
…an immortal Scottish swordsman on a quest for revenge against The Kurgan, a barbarian who has chased him across time as they battle for an all-powerful Prize.
Art Marcum and Matt Holloway wrote the script along with Melissa Rosenberg. Neal H. Moritz is producing with Peter Davis, while Justin Lin will executive produce after previously being attached to direct.
I think it would be awesome to see Cruise take on the mentor role in HIGHLANDER, although I'm not all that stoked about the reboot to begin with. Still, if it's going to happen I'm glad to hear that they're chasing some big names to be involved with it. It gives me hope that Summit, who was behind those shitty TWILIGHT films, actually cares about this property and wants to do it justice.