Highlander reboot tipped to cast Hollywood star and WWE legend as iconic villain The Kurgan
The new film has started to fill out its cast to appear opposite Henry Cavill.
It has been reported that Dave Bautista, the wrestler-turned-actor known for his roles as Drax in the MCU and as Glossu Rabban in the Dune films, is set to star in the new version of 1986's Highlander.
Deadline has reported that Bautista is being lined up to play The Kurgan, the villainous character originated by Clancy Brown in first Highlander film.
The new revival is set to be directed by John Wick's Chad Stahelski, while Henry Cavill will lead the movie as the immortal Scottish swordsman Connor MacLeod, originally played by Christopher Lambert.
The original film, which also starred Sean Connery, started up a franchise, which now contains five films, two live-action TV series, an animated series, an anime film, novels, comic books and more.
Back in 2023, Stahelski suggested that his film could be part of a prequel series of movies, telling Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast that the "story engages a lot of the same characters" of the original film, "but we’ve also brought in elements of all the TV shows".
He added that he and his team are "trying to do a bit of a prequel - a setup to The Gathering - so we have room to grow the property".
"If we got our s**t together and pulled off the feature, like, yeah, we have ideas for days about how to make the coolest characters and to make that an epic TV show," he added.
In recent years, Bautista has had roles in films including Blade Runner 2049, Army of the Dead, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, Knock at the Cabin, The Last Showgirl and In the Lost Lands.
Deadline's report also noted that Bautista is set to join Road House 2, the follow-up film to Jake Gyllenhaal's reboot of the action franchise. That film is expected to be helmed by Nobody director Ilya Naishuller, after Guy Ritchie left the project.
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Authors
James Hibbs is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering programmes across both streaming platforms and linear channels. He previously worked in PR, first for a B2B agency and subsequently for international TV production company Fremantle. He possesses a BA in English and Theatre Studies and an NCTJ Level 5 Diploma in Journalism.
