John Wick director teases Highlander "prequel" with Henry Cavill
It'll feature "elements from all the TV shows", too.
You thought there could only be one - but new details have been revealed regarding John Wick director Chad Stahelski’s upcoming Highlander reboot, starring Henry Cavill, that suggest it could be part of a prequel series of movies.
In development since 2016 under the director, Stahelski’s Highlander outing is set to star Cavill in the lead role as immortal Scottish swordsman Connor MacLeod (played by Christopher Lambert in the 1986 original), and a new interview has teased that, instead of a remake of the '80s classic, this new entry will act as a prequel.
What’s more, it’s clear that the intention is for this reboot to lead into a new series of films - and perhaps even an "epic TV show", if all goes well.
If you thought there wasn’t enough Highlander in the world, your dreams of more could soon become a reality.
Speaking to Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused YouTube channel, Stahelski explained that, after several years of development, he thinks that he and his team "have some very good elements now".
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Check out the full interview below:
The John Wick director adds: "The trick, is when you have the tagline, ‘There can only be one,’ you can’t just kill everybody for the first time."
Fans of the overall Highlander franchise will be pleased to hear that it’s not just elements of the 1986 classic being represented and rebooted in the new film - elements from the TV series (which began in 1992 and ran for six seasons) are being thrown in, too.
Stahelski explains that his "story engages a lot of the same characters" of the original film, "but we’ve also brought in elements of all the TV shows".
This is being done to help set up a potential franchise. The director details how 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".
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Stahelski adds: "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."
If this comes to pass, it'll join Wick spin-off The Continental as a series by Stahelski.
Highlander is set up perfectly for a franchise if all goes well, with Stahelski explaining that he thinks its "rich mythology" helps.
"When you can pick any period of time, any nationality, any culture, any type of person and make them an immortal [so] that [they] have to duel and deal with the burden of immortality, that's f*****g cool to me," he mused.
Who knows? In the future, there may be more than one big screen adventure from the stuntman-turned-director.
Chad Stahelski's Highlander reboot film is in development now and, as of writing, there is no confirmed release date. In the meantime, if you're looking for more to watch, check out our TV Guide or visit our Film hub for all the latest news.
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