In 2008, Summit Entertainment purchased the film rights to
Highlander, with plans of rebooting the franchise. Soon they hired
Iron Man screenwriters Art Marcum and Matt Holloway. The following year they selected
Fast & Furious director Justin Lin, but dropped out due to other projects. Lin, was replaced by
28 Weeks Later director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, but he too would leave the project, citing creative differences. Along that journey, Ryan Reynolds named was attached to star, but he too exited the
Highlander reboot. That brings us up to speed.
Today,
Deadline is reporting that Cedric Nicolas-Troyan has landed the directing gig. The
Highlander reboot will be his directorial debut. He is known for his visual effects work on
The Ring,
One Hour Photo, and
Snow White and the Huntsman, where he also served as a second unit director.
“I have been working on my pitch for this since the summer, and when I got there I met the original producer and I just started geeking out and he loved it,” Nicolas-Troyan told Mike Fleming Jr.. “The first movie came out when I was a teenager in France and it was one of my favorite films of those years. I loved the series also, they shot a lot of it in France, on the Seine River. My first reaction, like everybody else, was, really, do we need a remake? Then I read the script, and I thought about how Russell Mulcahy was this super visual video director who brought the pulse of the 80s to the film so well. I started thinking about taking those great characters and matching them with a modern, visceral take, and then I was in love with the idea and I just went for it.”
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Highlander (1986) - Christopher Lambert and Sean Connery star in the epic tale of immortality that launched one of the most beloved action-adventure series in film and TV history. After Scottish clansman Connor MacLeod (Lambert) discovers his true identity as a member of a legion of immortals, he embarks on a legendary journey spanning continents and centuries, eventually landing in modern-day New York City. Connor faces his ultimate test when other immortals begin to appear in the city for the mythical Gathering to claim the Prize, leading to a titanic showdown with the frightening and deadly Kurgan (Clancy Brown). In the end, there can be only one!