‘Highlander’ First Look: Henry Cavill Plays A Sword-Weilding Immortal In Reboot From ‘John Wick’ Franchise Director Chad Stahelski

There can be only one! Well, after reports of Henry Cavill being injured while prepping for the long-delayed “Highlander” reboot, directed by Chad Stahelski (behind the “John Wick” franchise as director and overseeing the spinoffs like “Ballerina“), the action pic has finally started production, and we now have first-look stills from the movie that switched studios from Lionsgate to Amazon MGM Studios/United Artists.

The two images (posted by the film’s lead actor via his official Instagram account) show Cavill’s immortal character, expected to be Connor MacLeod, in a church and what looks like a Buddhist temple. Part of the franchise’s lore is that holy ground is sort of a “no man’s land” as immortals cannot harm each other there (one of the few rules that every abides by).

READ MORE: 16 Films To See In January: ’28 Years Later 2,’ ‘The RIP,’ ‘Send Help’ & More

Cavill will be able to channel his sword-wielding skills from “The Witcher” as the premise of the movie sees a group of immortals from across the globe that battle each other (they can only be killed by having their heads cut off) for “The Prize,” which is becoming a mortal after defeating everyone else. However, many evil immortals have discovered that they only become more powerful with each killing of another immortal, so many have been accumulating power through “The Quickening” for centruies making them rather tough adversaries.

Others among the talented cast of “Highlander” include Marisa Abela (“Black Bag”), Russell Crowe (“Gladiator”), Dave Bautista (“Dune”) set to play the film’s main immortal baddie, Karen Gillan (“The Avengers: Endgame”), Djimon Hounsou (“The Guardians of the Galaxy”), Max Zhang (“The Grandmaster”), and Jeremy Irons (“The Beekeeper”).

That original 1986 movie, directed by Russell Mulcahy, starred Christopher Lambert, Sean Connery, Roxanne Hart, and Clancy Brown in lead roles. It would go on to spawn multiple sequels (the second film revealing immortals were banished aliens) and multiple television shows that helped to expand the franchise lore, adding the human group called The Watchers.

Stahelski, known for directing all four of the “John Wick” films led by Keanu Reeves, is still attached to “John Wick 5” (will be producing and overseeing the next spinoff featuring Donnie Yen‘s Caine) alongside other gestating projects like Michael B. Jordan‘s “Rainbow Six” (a sequel to the Jack Ryan universe film “Without Remorse”) and is hoping to eventually adapt the acclaimed samurai video game “Ghost of Tsushima” for Sony Pictures. Considering the director is known for making some of the best action thrill rides and his love for sword-fighting action sequences, fans are likely in store for something really special with “Highlander.”

Support independent movie journalism to keep it alive. Sign up for The Playlist Newsletter. All the content you want and, oh, right, it’s free.

You can see those new images below. We’re still waiting for Amazon to name an official release date for “Highlander,” but it is expected to be ready sometime in 2027.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Henry Cavill (@henrycavill)