Back when when Hollywood was remaking 80s films at a reliable clip, Highlander was one of those that seemed to just be eternally on the docket. The last substantial piece of news about it was that former Superman/Witcher Henry Cavill was attached to it, and that was back in 2021. A lot has changed a lot in the past two years, and it sounds like the fate of that remake may be one of those things.
Per Deadline, Lionsgate is preparing to put the reboot film up for sale to international distributors at the upcoming American Film Market. With a budget said to be north of $100 million, the Chad Stahelski-directed movie is expected to liven up the current prospect of buyable films, which have been diminished thanks to the ongoing Hollywood strikes. At present, the movie is expected to have a production date of 2024, but that depends on how current negotiations between SAG-AFTRA and studios go over the next few days. (And should that fail, discussions reportedly won’t start up again until a few weeks into 2024.)
News of a Highlander remake first started making waves back in 2008 after Summit Entertainment acquired the rights, and with Fast Five’s Justin Lin attached to direct back then. Over the years, various directors and actors have boarded and left the project: Ryan Reynolds was set to play lead hero Connor McLeod back in 2012 with 28 Weeks Later director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo in the director’s seat; the following year, Cedric Nicolas-Troyan was to helm the project while searching for a new lead after Reynolds dropped out. Dave Bautista, the late Ray Stevenson, and Vinnie Jones were at various points, rumored or cast as the Kurgan.
At time of writing, Cavill and Stahelski are the current actor-director duo, working off the most recent script from Mike Finch. No further casting has been revealed. If Stahelski has his way, this movie could lead to a larger franchise effort, but we’ve heard that before. Remember when there was going to be a video game?
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