Another high-profile addition has joined the cast of Chad Stahelski‘s “Highlander” remake at Amazon MGM Studios, and United Artists, starring Henry Cavill, as the fantasy action project has landed Karen Gillian.
This exciting casting update comes to us from The Hollywood Reporter, which also mentions that production is expected to start sometime next month. After decades of development hell, the remake looks to be finally getting in front of cameras.
The Scottish actress confirmed her casting and quipped on social media, “Dialect coach can sit this one out,” hinting that the role will allow her to use her natural accent this time around. Given this nod, it makes complete sense she’ll be playing a version of Connor’s (played by Cavill) mortal wife, Heather MacLeod, who becomes his first love to die during his years in Scotland before moving around across the globe and settling in New York City, the setting of the original 1986 film, scored by the beloved British rock bank, Queen.
Gillian most likely became aware to most after playing a companion in the “Doctor Who” revival series before landing franchise roles in Marvel Studios‘ “Guardians of the Galaxy” trilogy spearheaded by James Gunn and supporting part in The Russo Brothers‘ “Avengers: Endgame,” along with the more recent “Jumanji” movies.
She’ll join a supporting cast that already features Russell Crowe (“Land of Bad”), Marisa Abela (“Black Bag”), and Dave Bautista (“Dune,” “Blade Runner 2049”), the latter was her co-star in “Guardians” making this remake a bit of an MCU reunion of sorts given brief cameos of Cavill as Wolverine in “Deadpool & Wolverine” and Crowe playing a comedic version of Zeus in “Thor: Love & Thunder.”
Crowe is said to be playing Ramirez (previously played by Sean Connery), Connor’s immortal mentor and friend (makes a miraculous return from the dead in the second film), and Bautista is set to play The Kurgen (the actor was once attached to play the part during the Ryan Reynolds version), a brutal immortal looking to kill others to increase his powers. While Abela’s role isn’t mentioned, we have to believe it could be a new iteration of Roxanne Hart‘s Brenda Wyatt, an NYPD forensic expert who is obsessed with antique swords and becomes the modern love interest of Connor in the original movie.
Stahelski, the director behind the successful “John Wick” franchise will be moving from gunplay to swordplay, as guns aren’t exactly the weapons of the immortals (the human collective known as The Watchers do use them) as the only way to kill each other is to cut off their heads to activate “The Quickening,” an extreme burst of power after an immortal dies and is transferred to the one who killed them (increasing their speed, strength, and extending their immortality).
We’re still waiting on word if they’ll be using the original score from Queen or will be hiring a new rock band to tackle those duties. There is also an expectation that “Highlander” could be ready for release sometime in the second half of 2026 or early 2027, but we’re going to need confirmation from Amazon on that front.
Dialect coach can sit this one out… https://t.co/uGM4KsrGgt
— Karen Gillan (@karengillan) August 21, 2025
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