CinemaCon has come and gone, with one of the more perplexing things missing during the Lionsgate presentation as they failed to announce or promote their “Highlander” reboot from director Chad Stahelski (“John Wick” franchise) and led by British actor Henry Cavill (who had previously promoted his casting at CinemaCon 2024).
We now know WHY that didn’t happen, as it was announced toward the end of last week by Deadline that the “Highlander” reboot has switched studios, as Amazon MGM Studios has plucked the film from Lionsgate in a bit of a shocking twist. Amazon’s United Artists and Scott Stuber are in final negotiations to secure the film’s rights with a script penned by Michael Finch (“John Wick 4,” “Predators”).
Neal H. Moritz and 87Eleven Entertainment are also producing the reboot, as THR adds this deal is a “theatrical play” and not a streaming exclusive.
The 1986 film “Highlander” featured a Scottish warrior, played by French actor Christopher Lambert, learning he is an immortal and is mentored by a Spanish swordsman, played by Scottish actor Sean Connery, with similar abilities, and it is revealed that they can only be killed by having their heads cut off. Once that happens, the fallen immortal’s power is transferred via “The Quickening” and not only extends their life but also adds to their strength and speed as well. All the immortals are fighting each other for “The Prize,” which is granted to the last one standing and allows them to have a mortal life of peace (in the sequel, it was revealed that the immortals are aliens marooned on Earth as punishment for an off-world rebellion).
While the film led to multiple feature sequels and TV spinoffs, the original is considered the best of the bunch and featured an excellent score provided by Queen, with “Princes of The Universe” and “Who Wants To Live Forever?” being the standout tracks.
This studio move is a little shocking given how long Lionsgate has been trying to get the reboot in production, Amazon MGM Studios is also behind Cavill’s giant robot anime adaptation “Voltron,” which is being handled by Legendary Pictures. They’re also working with Cavill on a series version of “Warhammer 40K” as well.
Fans of “Highlander” would likely be very aware of the minor overlap with the “John Wick” lore, as the group of immortals has its own secret society, which includes a group of mortal humans known as Watchers (something added from the television series).
Speaking of “John Wick,” Lionsgate had announced at the aforementioned CinemaCon presentation that they are indeed moving with “John Wick 5“ (Keanu Reeves and Stahelski returning) and Donnie Yen (one of his first Hollywood films was the “Highlander” sequel “Highlander: Endgame”) is set to direct his own spinoff film “Caine,” which will be shot on location in Hong Kong later this year.
We’re still waiting on further information on “Highlander,” including a release date and a supporting cast built around Cavill.
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