As previously reported, the long-awaited Highlander reboot, starring Henry Cavill (Man of Steel, The Witcher) as a MacLeod (presumably either Connor or Duncan), has found a new home at Amazon MGM Studios, shifting gears from its previous development at Lionsgate.
Fans eager for a resurgence of the sword-slashing fantasy series can now look towards a potential production start as early as September, with a projected release window in 2027 or 2028.
Director Chad Stahelski (John Wick franchise), who has been attached to the project since its initial announcement in October 2023, recently provided an update to Collider, stating that the Highlander reboot is his immediate priority.
"If everything works out in the next 24 hours, we'll be shooting sometime in September. And in 2027 or 2028, you’ll be watching Highlander," Stahelski revealed. The script for the reboot is penned by Mike Finch (American Assassin, John Wick: Chapter 4).
In a prior interview, Stahelski shared his compelling pitch to Cavill, emphasizing the depth of the character: "My selling point was, to [Henry Cavill], look, you've got a guy that's been alive for over 500 years. He's the last person in the world that wanted to be in this situation. So you get to cover quite a broad spread of a character arc there. And you get to experience someone that's trained over 500 years and sort of played [with many types of] martial arts."
The move to Amazon MGM sees Cavill further solidify his presence at the studio, where he is also spearheading the development of a Warhammer 40,000 cinematic universe and starring in the upcoming live-action Voltron movie.
However, based on Stahelski's latest comments, it appears the Highlander reboot is poised to be the first of these projects to move into active production.
Highlander follows a fictional story that asserts that immortals exist, hidden within normal society. They must hunt and kill other immortals by beheading them in a contest known as The Gathering, which will see the last-standing immortal gain ultimate power.
While the origins of the contest is never explicitly explained, the franchise generally takes the stance that immortals have existed since the dawn of time and that the contest between them must only abide by three hard rules:
- combat on Holy Ground is forbidden
- combat must be one on one
- in the end, there can only be one.
The franchise started out as a 1986 action fantasy film which starred Christopher Lambert as Connor MacLeod. That film went on to spawn 4 sequels.
A spinoff television show premiered in 1992, starring Adrian Paul as Connor's descendant and fellow immortal, Duncan MacLeod.
That show lasted 119 episodes across 6 seasons and spawned two spin-offs of its own.