Dave Bautista has found his next role. On Thursday, Deadline announced that Bautista is in final negotiations to star in Amazon MGM Studios’ upcoming reboot of Highlander, which is set to star Henry Cavill. Per the outlet, the in-demand actor is set to play the villain of the film, the immortal barbarian known as The Kurgen. Clancy Brown originated the character in the original Highlander film. Bautista is the latest addition to the highly anticipated reboot, which recently added Oscar-winner Russell Crowe. This marks a full-circle moment for Bautista, who was initially circling the role of The Kurgen back in 2015 when the project was in development at Summit Entertainment.
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Summit Entertainment had secured the rights to the Highlander franchise in 2008 and had intended to reboot the franchise with director Cedric Nicolas-Troyan working from a screenplay by Art Marcum and Matt Holloway, but the project never came to fruition. Henry Cavill boarded the project in 2021, and while development has been slow going since then, the actor recently confirmed it was his main focus for the foreseeable future, with production set to kick off relatively soon. Cavill is set to play the leading man, MacLeod, while Crowe will play the role of Ramirez.
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John Wick director Chad Stahelski will helm the Highlander reboot from a screenplay by Michael Finch. Production on the long-gestating project is supposed to kick off this September with filming expected to take place within the United Kingdom and Hong Kong.
The first Highlander movie was released in 1986 and starred Christopher Lambert as Connor MacLeod, a Medieval Scottish Highlander who dscovers he is an immortal warrior. MacLeod works with a swordsman named Ramirez (Sean Connery) as he battles other immortals across the centuries.
In the reboot, Bautista’s Kurgen kills other immortals throughout the centuries in order to absorb their essence. He’ll eventually face off against Cavill’s MacLeod, leaving only one Highlander in the end. Cavill previously stating he wanted to ensure his Highlander movie made his character more than just a “cool guy with a sword,” delving deeper than the original movie did. Cavill, has been very vocal regarding his love of Highlander throughout the years, and how the reboot is a bit of a passion project for him.
The Highlander franchise has managed to produce four live-action films throughout the years: Highlander, Highlander II: The Quickening, Highlander: The Final Dimension, and Highlander: Endgame. There was also an animated movie, titled Highlander: The Search for Vengeance, as well as two television shows: Highlander: The Series and Highlander: The Raven. While the first Highlander movie was a box office flop with just $5.9 million worldwide, the movie has become a cult classic. All of the Highlander movies are now available to stream on Peacock, Tubi, and Pluto TV, as are the television shows, for those eager to delve deeper into Highlander lore.
Bautista, who is best known for his wrestling career and his role in the Guardians of the Galaxy films, will next lend his voice to The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender before appearing in Highlander. Most recently, the actor appeared in Dune: Part Two, My Spy: The Eternal City, and The Last Showgirl. Amazon MGM Studios and Lionsgate have not yet unveiled a release date for the Highlander reboot.
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