“There can be only one,” unless we’re talking about Highlander. In that case Hollywood will just keep making new versions again and again. And now we know for sure it soon will. Deadline reports a big screen reboot starring Henry Cavill as its titular Immortal, from John Wick‘s Chad Stahelski, is moving forward. That is the a huge step in fulfilling the director’s ultimate plan of making sure this movie won’t be the “only one” that gets made. The real prize for Highlander fans could be a whole new franchise.
Stahelski recently gave an update on his long-awaited Highlander reboot movie when he stopped by Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast. During the interview (which we first learned about at IGN), Horowitz asked Stahelski about the status of his Highlander movie. At the time he said the Highlander reboot is still in development. Now Deadline says Lionsgate is definitely “moving forward” with the project. It’s going up for sale at AFM. If everything goes to plan (and SAG-AFTRA gets a fair deal), it could begin filming in 2024.
The film will also have a big-time budget topping $100 million, so this is a serious investment from the studio. That points to this being the start of something much bigger, just as Stahelski hoped. He has said his ultimate goal is to launch an entire Highlander franchise rather than a single stand-alone film.
These new films will also touch upon elements long-time fans know and love about the franchise. Stahelski told Horowitz, “Our story engages a lot of the same characters and stuff like that. But we’ve also brought in elements of all the TV shows, and we’re trying to do a bit of a prequel, a setup to The Gathering. So we have room to grow the property.”
Exactly how much the new rebooted franchise will connect to the previous Christopher Lambert Highlander show and movies is still unknown even if we now know it’s definitely happening. The exact nature of Cavill’s role on the show, which we first reported on in 2021, is also unclear.
A whole series of movies seems is definitely possible for him more than ever. A lot has changed in the actor’s career since he first became attached to Highlander. He’s no longer DC’s Superman or The Witcher‘s Geralt. But both taught him how to defeat powerful enemies and wield a sword, so he’s ready to be an Immortal. And he likely will be multiple times. There can’t be only one new Highlander movie, right?
Originally published on August 29, 2023.
