The tale of the Highlander reboot is almost as aged as the centuries-old immortals who do battle in the 1980s cult flick.
We’ve known for a long while that a remake of the 1980s favourite Highlander has been heading our way. It’s been a pretty tortuous journey that began sometime around 2008, with long periods of no movement to the point where it seemed we’d never actually get to see another film about a bunch of sword-wielding immortals battling through the ages to claim their destiny.
It’s been a couple of years now since the latest iteration of Highlander's return was announced. Chad Stahelski – director of the John Wick films – is set to helm this take, with Henry Cavill set to star. Stahelski is an action director with plenty of pedigree and Cavill is well-versed with a blade, as we’ve seen in Netflix’s The Witcher series. Naturally, this augers well for an action-focused reimagining of the movie, thought Stahelski has promised ‘a more grounded-in-reality take’ than the original films, playing more ‘like a modern tragedy’ than the 1980s flicks which admittedly, can seem a little campy by today’s action movie standards.
However, Stahelski is a busy guy. When he isn’t directing John Wick films, he’s acting in the latest Matrix movie. When he isn’t doing that, he’s producing a whole number of projects, not to mention developing a live-action adaptation of the PlayStation game, Ghost Of Tsushima, which he plans to direct himself. Despite all of that, the filmmaker as offered a brief update on the Highlander project, promising fans who might be getting a bit worried that ‘it is still happening’.
Chad Stahelski says he has been trying to get his ‘HIGHLANDER’ film, starring Henry Cavill, off the ground but assures fans that it is still happening. #SDCC pic.twitter.com/9pwJE63DPu
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) July 23, 2022
Anybody who’s been tracking the progress of a Highlander remake since 2008 might feel like they’ve been here before, and we can’t help but wonder how the pandemic-influenced decision to not film John Wick 4 and 5 back to back (as was originally intended) might have far-reaching consequences here. With Cavill’s commitment to The Witcher and a potential return to the Superman role said to be on the cards, aligning his schedule with Stahelski who is set to direct John Wick 5, Ghost Of Tsushima and Highlander means that it’s likely that something will have to give. According to Stahelski, it won’t be the Highlander reboot, but we’ll have to see.
When we do hear further updates on this project, you’ll be the first to know.
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