The Wrap recently published a revealing deep dive into the behind-the-scenes maneuvering surrounding Highlander, the long-gestating reboot starring Henry Cavill. The film’s surprising jump from Lionsgate to Amazon MGM appears to have come down to creative vision—clashing with cold, hard numbers.
At the heart of the dispute was director Chad Stahelski, who reportedly requested a $180 million budget to fully realize his vision for the reboot. Lionsgate, however, was unwilling to budge beyond $165 million, setting the stage for a studio switch.
On the surface, that price tag raised eyebrows. Aside from some potentially heavy VFX work—particularly for the franchise’s signature "Quickening" sequences—Highlander is largely a grounded action film with sword fights and martial arts. Stahelski, after all, made the first three John Wick films on considerably more modest budgets of $30 million, $40 million, and $75 million, respectively.
Adding to Lionsgate’s hesitation was growing skepticism over Cavill’s recent box office appeal. The actor’s latest outing, Argylle, reportedly cost $70–80 million to make, with Apple shelling out $200 million for global rights. Despite that investment, the film brought in only $96.2 million worldwide and was met with lukewarm reviews, further muddying Cavill’s standing as a bankable lead.
The studio reportedly also cited The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, which Lionsgate distributed in North America. The 2024 action comedy war film grossed $29.7 million worldwide from a production budget of $60 million.
Also, unnamed studio execs at Lionsgate told The Wrap that the studio worried that, "Highlander is a one-quadrant movie, catering to Gen X males who remembered the original movie (and the sequels and syndicated TV series that followed)."
With creative ambition clashing against fiscal caution, Amazon MGM stepped in—as they're already tied to Cavill on a number of other, high profile projects.
The original write-up from The Wrap is behind a paywall, but it seems the site has sold the piece to Yahoo, where you can read it for free.
More recently, Chad Stahelski indicated that he planned to start filming the Highlander reboot this September for a 2027/2028 release.
Cavill meanwhile, just recently wrapped filming on another Amazon MGM, high-profile '80s remake, a live-action Voltron adaptation.
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.