“There may only be one left”Retells the most famous line from the Highlander saga, which has evolved into film and television, live-action and animation, with more or less success, in just 40 years. Released in 1986, Russell Mulcay’s first film, which starred Christophe Lambert, will be rebroadcast this Thursday, October 10 on CStar.
Hence, it’s a perfect opportunity to consider the reboot to be carried by Henry Cavill, who was already trained to wield swords thanks to The Witcher. A project that has been delayed for many years, but finally seems to be moving, as we are talking about filming in early 2025. Tomorrow or almost.
What is Highlander?
The saga of the Highlander, imagined by Gregory Wyden, began in 1986 with a film directed by Christophe Lambert, aka Conor McLeod. The work spawned 4 sequels (not always very inspired), an animated series, an animated film titled Thirst for Revenge, and a 6-season TV series with Adrian Paul (Duncan McLeod).
The latter was spun off into a spin-off, L’Immortelle, which was only allowed 22 short episodes. For more than 10 years, the Immortal franchise has been trying to resurrect itself on the big screen without much success.
WHO WILL DO THE HIGHLANDER REBOOT?
With failed reboot attempts by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (28 Weeks Later) and Cedric Nicolas-Troian (The Huntsman and Ice Queen), Chad Stahelski took up the torch. The director is an action specialist who produced the John Wick saga.
In January 2017, Highlander launched with Stahelski. The director has in mind a trilogy between Star Wars and John Wick: “I think the Highlander series had a lot of good things that weren’t in the movie, between the Watchers and the different types of immortals. Let’s break it down into parts, with the series and this trilogy in mind.”Chad Stahelski said.
“We’re in the process of restructuring right now, we have to take everything that was good before I came to the project, rework the script to have a great first film, then a second, then a third, and expand the universe.added to Collider’s microphone. For the filmmaker, the vision he wants to instill is similar to that of the Star Wars saga. He wants to be able to tell three stories that complement each other.
Crazy like John Wick?
“I was told, ‘Whatever you did with gunfights on John Wick, we want you to try the same thing on Highlander with sword fights.’ We want you to do something cool and unique that makes the audience say they’ve never seen this before.”Stahelski confirmed.
Words that were enough for fans of the saga to know the director’s impressive work on the battles of John Wick. Two years after these announcements, the reboot has yet to see the light of day. Chad Stahelski then took advantage of the John Wick Parabellum promo to give an update on the project:
“We are trying to resolve this issue with Lionsgate and the producer Neil H. Moritz. Anyone who knows anything about the franchise knows it’s consistent. It’s a good brand. It has great potential. We’re just trying to find a way to not screw things up.”– assured the film director. According to him, the world of immortals remains an inexhaustible source of inspiration.
Who will star in Chad Stahelski’s Highlander?
After impressing in Zack Snyder’s extended version of Justice League in May 2021, we learned that Henry Cavill was going to trade his Superman cape for a Highlander kilt! The Brits announced it on Instagram themselves, he will be the new face of the immortal beheading franchise.
“I’ve been a Highlander fan since I was a kid, from the 80s movies to the TV series, with an actor who looks a lot like one of my brothers”– the actor confided. “I’m not bad with swords either, and with Chad Stahelski at the helm, this is an opportunity like no other.”continued the actor.
“This deep dive into the history of the franchise, with all the tools at our disposal, makes this movie an adventure I’ll never forget (and hopefully you won’t).”he concluded, clearly very enthusiastic.
However, Henry Cavill added one last thing when commenting on the photo, which depicts the work on the history of the Highlands: “As you can see from the photo, I have recently delved into my Scottish heritage and started doing research.”
Therefore, the actor is very motivated by the idea of the role of the immortal warrior Connor McLeod (if the film keeps the name of the hero, played by Christophe Lambert). If we rely on his physical performance in the series WitcherEspecially his sword fights, we can only be fascinated by the thought of seeing him as the new Highlander.
Thus, the actor will add a new iconic franchise to the hunting list after Superman, Mission Impossible Fallout, Witcher and Sherlock Holmes (Enola Holmes).
When is Highlander filming?
Last March, Chad Stahelski mentioned his intention to start building an entire universe around the Immortals, as he was able to do with John Wick. Stahelski also confirmed that he was developing the project with Henry Cavill. “I’ve been working on Highlander for years now, for Henry Cavill.”
Working on such a project is much more difficult than John Wick, the latter had no mythology, 5 films and 6 seasons of the TV series.– the director confided. He was a guest director on August 29 Happy Sad Confused podcastHosted by Josh Horowitz. In this regard, he once again spoke about the progress of the project and detailed his intentions regarding the plot.
Highlander, what does it say?
“I think we’ve got some good elements right now. The thing is, you have a tagline that’s ‘There’s only one left,’ you can’t kill them all at once. I’ll tell you, you trust something; our story takes a few. Characters from the original and a lot of details in this From the universe, we also included elements from various TV series.– noted Chad Stahelski.
“We’re trying to build a kind of prequel that tells how the immortals came to the meeting.”. It’s a kind of subconscious force that drives these chosen ones to fight each other in a duel to the death, where the winner cuts off the opponent’s head and absorbs all of their power.
“We have enough elements to continue the development and license of this world”Chad Stahelski concluded. While we now know a few elements of the director’s direction for this new version of the immortal saga, we still don’t know if the reboot will be filmed before John Wick 5 and Ghost of Tsushima, before or after the other projects. Stahelsky. Tsushima is about a pretty awesome katana fight, good training for the Highlander project?
Christophe Lambert and Adrian Paul, possible return?
Additionally, we also don’t know if the director will bring back former franchise stars Christophe Lambert (Connor McLeod) and Adrian Paul (Duncan McLeod). In any case, the strike that paralyzed Hollywood gave Chad Stahelski some time to quietly develop the project while respecting the original work.
“Mythology is so important that it’s very delicate to work with, you have to take the time to build the story, especially by looking at history, to explore the mythology’s full potential.He said in March last year.
Therefore, the artist is still very enthusiastic about the idea of reviving the saga of immortals. With this action specialist at the helm and Henry Cavill as the hero, Highlander could rise from the ashes and enjoy success again.
HIGHLANDER RELEASE DATE?
As the project is currently in pre-production, a release date is unknown. We’ll have to be patient if Chad Stahelski decides to prioritize John Wick 5 and Ghost of Tsushima. But if filming starts in 2025, we can expect to see the results in 2026, the saga’s 40th anniversary.
Source: Allocine
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
