Yesterday, we brought exclusive word that director Justin Lin was moving straight from “Fast Five” into the next untitled installment in the “Fast And The Furious” series. We figured he had more irons in the fire, but he cited creative control as a factor in turning down projects like “Die Hard 5” and it’s a sure bet that was also a factor behind his recent decision to exit Summit‘s high-profile “Highlander” reboot, as that coming remake now seeks a new helmer.
While Lin signed on to “Highlander” back in 2009, a sea of writers have subsequently climbed aboard the project, from Art Marcum and Matt Holloway (“Iron Man“), to the writing team of the Wibberlys, to, recently, in-house “Twilight” scribe Melissa Rosenberg. Despite the many pens taken to producer Neal Moritz‘s pet project, it now appears Summit is ready to roll on the first entry in this prospective series, so a replacement for Lin is expected to be announced soon. Lin will retain an executive producer credit.
With their golden goose franchise “Twilight” winding down, Summit will eagerly be looking for a new one to step up to the plate and “Highlander” could be it; certainly the hiring of Rosenberg points to a certain aesthetic. But she’s also been a producer and writer on “Dexter” so don’t expect it to be a teen angsty reboot necessarily — perhaps they’re going for something that’s just more broadly appealing than the cult classic original. With the 1986 film having spawned four sequels and three television series it’s pretty apparent why the studio is eager to get the ball rolling on this and it will be interesting to see who they seek out. Remember, before Bill Condon signed on, the studio went to folks like Sofia Coppola and Gus Van Sant, and while we doubt arthouse-friendly names will be interested, the shortlist could be pretty eclectic.
