Highlander Reboot Director Details Why Project Is Taking So Long

A reboot of Highlander from John Wick director Chad Stahelski has been in the works for years, and while the project added Henry Cavill back in 2021, there has been little momentum on the project since, which Stahelski chalks up to just how dense the mythology of the franchise is. While the unique nature of the John Wick franchise means he has the freedom to invent as he goes along, he recalled how finding ways to honor not only the franchise’s cinematic legacy, but also that of the TV series, makes it daunting to develop without making for a bloated first film.

“I’ve worked on Highlander for years now, for Henry Cavill. Being retroactive is hard,” Stahelski shared with Deadline. “What’s different between Wick and that? With Wick, you weren’t serving seven seasons of TV plus two spinoffs plus five films. If I were to do a remake of Highlander right now, you’d expect a lot of mythology in those first two hours; you couldn’t explore stuff without it. Now, Highlander as a TV show now would be amazing. You’d have time to build it out, see all those flashbacks and the potential of it. It’s trickier when you’re trying to do something with that big of a mythology. But I agree, that would be one to take a really big stab at. Here, we just had the opportunity to really learn as we went on with Wick.”

The original Highlander debuted in 1986 and earned four sequels, as well as inspiring multiple TV series, animated projects, and comic book expansions. Cavill was announced as being involved in the project while he was still invested in The Witcher TV series, a project which he has confirmed he will be exiting, though he is now confirmed to Warhammer TV series. In this regard, it’s tough to see Cavill committing to another TV series, especially one that has so much overlap with elements of The Witcher.

Stahelski’s John Wick: Chapter 4 just landed in theaters this past weekend, and with a fifth film yet to be announced, the franchise may have potentially come to an end. If that’s the case, Stahelski could finally have the time in his schedule to devote to developing Highlander and reviving a seminal ’80s film for a new generation.

Stay tuned for details on the Highlander reboot.

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