Melissa Rosenberg Rewriting Highlander Reboot

Melissa Rosenberg Rewriting Highlander Reboot

Melissa Rosenberg, former executive producer of Dexter, writer of the in development pilot of Jessica Jones and adapter of The Twilight Saga, is close to signing a deal to rewrite the Highlander reboot.

By EdGross - Feb 09, 2011 07:02 PM EST
Filed Under: Sci-Fi
Source: The Hollywood Reporter

To be directed by Fast Five's Justin Lin, and based on the original 1986 film that starred Christopher Lambert, Sean Connery and Clancy Brown, the remake will be produced by Summit Entertainment and Panzer/Davis Productions.

Admits the article, "With her Twilight connection, Rosenberg may seem an odd choice for writing the action remake. But as the sole writer on Summit’s vampire pentalogy, she has proved adept at handling both character and action, as well as yearning, a key component of Highlander as protagonist Connor MacLeod watches his true love age while he does not. Before tackling Twilight, Rosenberg was a writer/co-executive producer on Dexter, the Showtime series that darkly balances family with bloody carnage."

The premise of the film deals with Immortals trying to take each other's heads so that in the "there can be only one." That film gave birth to four big screen sequels, a six-season television series starring Adrian Paul as Duncan MacLeod, a spin-off of that show called Highlander: The Raven and an animated show, not to mention novels and comics.

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Ranger14
Ranger14 - 2/9/2011, 7:33 PM
Nothing is sacred anymore when it comes to Hollywood. Hell, they're even remaking Footloose! :-P
steelrocks
steelrocks - 2/9/2011, 7:39 PM
exactly that's exactly what I was gonna say.. Enough with the reboots for [frick]s sakes
ChristopherM
ChristopherM - 2/9/2011, 7:40 PM
Justin Lin is a terrible director and Melissa Rosenberg is an awful writer... this is one remake I'll be avoiding like the plague... I loved the original and even the sequel...this just screams money grab and it's shameful they didn't at least try to get more credible people to work on this...
JOHNNYisQUICK
JOHNNYisQUICK - 2/9/2011, 7:45 PM
this blows
JDM316
JDM316 - 2/9/2011, 7:52 PM
I cant beleive that they are considering doing this. I am a huge Highlander fan and it would really be painful to see them butcher this franchise. I heard rumors about them re-doing the first movie with the same story line. now they are talking a reboot? WTF I hope this does not happen
BlackSands
BlackSands - 2/9/2011, 8:21 PM
some things should NEVER be rebooted. of course.... if they differentiate themselves ala Elseworlds, then I can probably watch it.

on a side note: I shudder at the Twilight connection.... just about anything that came out of that franchise irks me to no end.

the more I think about this the more I really DON'T want a reboot.

BlackSands
BlackSands - 2/9/2011, 8:23 PM


Nothing can ever top that... of course the TV series was a close 2nd.



BTW... Methos was the BEST character to have come out of the TV series.
juggy4711
juggy4711 - 2/9/2011, 8:43 PM
@BlackSands...Never watched the series. Is it really worth checking out or is it only for die hard Highlander fans?
DBeck
DBeck - 2/9/2011, 8:45 PM
This is just awful. The focus of Highlander shouldn't be Connor watching his loves grow old while he cannot. The focus is to cut the Kurgan's heads off. I would love to be put in charge of the remake. First thing I'd do is sign Lambert as Ramirez, just as a throwback to the original. I really hope the deal doesn't go through. She is good in her own right and I'm not knocking her, I just don't want Highlander to go in that direction.
JDM316
JDM316 - 2/9/2011, 8:48 PM
@juggy4711 - The series is good if you are a fan of the movie. Some people like it and some don't. The main character is not the same as the one in the movie. Different name and actor. However he was trained by connor Macleod. You might like it and you may not. I would recommend if you do watch it try season 2 and beyond. Season one was ok but the rest were better.
BlackSands
BlackSands - 2/9/2011, 8:48 PM
@juggy4711.. the series is worth checking out... just treat it as an extension of the first movie, but discard the idea that Connor "won" the prize. There were a hell of a lot of great stuff on the series, Methos being one of them (5,000-plus yr old immortal that ranked a place in the old testament: the horseman known as Death).

@CaNick: Queen or bust.... NOTHING tops Queen on their songs, EVER! You can't have Highlander without Queen... and since one of the writers came from Twilight.... GAH!
juggy4711
juggy4711 - 2/9/2011, 8:52 PM
I actually just watched Highlander a couple nights ago. It's a bit dated but about twenty years later, it is still as cool as it was when I was ten. Maybe I will check out the series but ignoring the prize? Why does that dude have Connor's sword?
JDM316
JDM316 - 2/9/2011, 8:55 PM
He has Connor's Sword because Connor gave it to him in the first episode.
slimybug
slimybug - 2/9/2011, 9:05 PM
So it's not really so much of a reBOOT as it is a reMAKE, is it?
juggy4711
juggy4711 - 2/9/2011, 9:16 PM
Gave it to him? The second and the third movie were so bad I have never bothered beyond that. Are the movies after the 3rd any good?
BlackSands
BlackSands - 2/9/2011, 9:18 PM
@juggy4711 - rumor had it that the guy who created the original story while in college before it was turned into a movie originally wanted it much darker and that there WAS no prize.... just immortals throughout history, sometimes killing each other for reasons like revenge, feuds, duels, etc. ...and also the fact that Immortals CAN have children (mostly mortal children at that) before they changed it to NOT having kids at all.

So in essence, the TV series was a mash-up of what the creator of the show wanted with Immortals good and evil battling throughout history mixed in with the mythology of a quickening and a nebulous prize.
FEJ
FEJ - 2/9/2011, 9:32 PM
Blacksands i totally agree Methos was the best preaty sure the directors thought so too since he also came out in Highlander the Source.

juggy4711 and JDM316 if ur refering to the sword that Duncun has he didn't get it from Connor. The dragon heads are different. We learn when duncun got his sword in the series (Samurai episode).

I don't like the idea of this reboot!
BlackSands
BlackSands - 2/9/2011, 9:42 PM
@squibb: if they liked him so much, I wish they'd made a spin-off of him rather than of Amanda. Hell, the story of a 5,000 yr old man throughout time had more bang for your buck than Elizabeth Gracen's character of a 2,000 yr old thief. No offense to Gracen, but a show about Methos would have lasted more than one season guaranteed!
JDM316
JDM316 - 2/9/2011, 9:51 PM
@squibb - My bad man you are totally right I forgot about that.
@juggy4711 - Highlander Endgame is okay. That is when they have both the Duncan and Connor MacLeod in the movie.
They made one movie after that but I cant remeber the name of it. It was alright but very low budget. If they make a new movie I really hope that Adrian Paul has some kind of role in it. Possibly a Cameo.
thereaper27
thereaper27 - 2/9/2011, 9:56 PM
sounds gayer than grif
cainas80
cainas80 - 2/9/2011, 10:24 PM
If she turns it into some pissy weak crap with no blood no be-heading's and the quickening is just sparkles and glitter they may as well have given the job to Uwe Boll at least you know its a peace of crap when hes doing it.
EdGross
EdGross - 2/10/2011, 1:23 AM
I thought seasons two through five of the Highlander TV series was amazing, and I just couldn't get how, when they took Adrian Paul's Duncan to the big screen, they just could not get the films right. I also had the opportunity to interview many of the people in front of and behind the camera on that show and I have to say -- I have seldom found a series where everyone involved was so passionate about what they were doing. For the most part, it reflected on screen.
LOL
LOL - 2/10/2011, 1:35 AM
@EdGross, I think what you say applies to most tv shows that translated to films later. Not many make the transition well most likely due to creative differences and the reason of trying to cram the "whole show's vibe" into a 2-hr movie can be daunting. Some of them trip over themselves and over-reach their expectations in making it. As I understand it, doing a weekly production of a tv show from script to screen is a lot different from what a 2-hr (roughly) movie entailed. I could be wrong, but it looked that way to me.

I'm worried about the supposed remake, I just hope the original creators of the show/movie have some sort of input. If not, I might as well wait for it on DVD.
VictorHugo
VictorHugo - 2/10/2011, 2:14 AM
Highlander, the TV series was an insightful show. My favourite episode surely is "Homeland". Loved the episodes in Scotland and France, most of the time they were pure poetic european screensaver.

Any person thinking on rebooting Highlander (or any other movie) should be beheaded by a Hattori Hanzo Katana.
AlexDeLarge87
AlexDeLarge87 - 2/10/2011, 2:58 AM
Only one question?... Why reboot this?
ShadowMan
ShadowMan - 2/10/2011, 4:16 AM
They should just make a movie about Methos, don't remake or reboot just let the old franchise die.
EdGross
EdGross - 2/10/2011, 7:21 AM
To be fair, Melissa Rosenberg also served as the co-executive producer of Dexter for its first four years, and that represented some pretty amazing television.
StrangerX
StrangerX - 2/10/2011, 8:13 AM
A twilight version of Highlander. I will most likely pass, but I know this will end up making a shit load of money.
naterator
naterator - 2/10/2011, 8:45 AM
why do they have to reboot everything? Why dont they just do another movie following the continuity of the rest of the films? Throw lambert back in there or use the same guy that was in the last HIghlander film with a cameo of COnnery in the film or something?////I wont be watching the remake....
Gunslinger
Gunslinger - 2/10/2011, 8:59 AM
In the original movie, which is a classic, Connor watches his wife grow old and die in a 10 minute sequence (probably a lot less than that). Now they're basing the remake on that. By the woman who unleashed Twilight (a bit like Pandora's box). Higlander is supposed to be a story about competition, survival and revenge. Not a love story about an emo scottsman, brooding because he can't grow old. Stupid idea.
FEJ
FEJ - 2/10/2011, 9:21 AM
Instead of watching the reboot, when it come out, i think i'll just watch the original and the series again.

Can anyone think of a reboot that was better than the original?

syke0ut
syke0ut - 2/10/2011, 10:59 AM
Booooooo....There can only be one!!!
ComicBookGoth
ComicBookGoth - 2/10/2011, 12:18 PM
heather please !!!!
GUNGRAVE1
GUNGRAVE1 - 2/10/2011, 3:18 PM
Highlander reboot that would be nice make it dark.
LEEE777
LEEE777 - 2/10/2011, 5:08 PM
[frick] you HOLLYWOOD lol.

No to a remake/reboot!
GUNGRAVE1
GUNGRAVE1 - 2/10/2011, 7:21 PM
New highlander movie beter story bring it on.
comicbookjerk
comicbookjerk - 2/11/2011, 1:23 AM
Yeah some one needs to rewrite it


My god it was horrible Immortals using guns and sniper rifles...yeah screw that!
comicbookjerk
comicbookjerk - 2/11/2011, 1:24 AM
BTW I have read this script if someone wants a review of it yeah...You will know why it needs a rewrite!
ComicBookGoth
ComicBookGoth - 2/12/2011, 10:38 AM
i second Leee's Comments

"No to a remake/reboot!"
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