There’s lots of iconic elements of 1986’s Highlander, whether it be the sword fights or mythology or action-packed visuals, but one of the most beloved elements was the score, composed by rock icons Queen. With Queen being one of the defining musical acts of the ’80s, there have been some questions about whether their style of music would be incorporated into the upcoming Highlander reboot from Chad Stahelski, but in response to the question of the music being included, he offered a “hardcore yes” on the idea. He did note, though, that the music will be integrated in ways that fans might not be expecting. The new Highlander reboot doesn’t yet have a release date.
While speaking with TheWrap about including the Queen score, Stahelski confirmed, “Yes … Probably in a different way than you think, but hardcore yes.”
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Director of the original Highlander Russell Mulcahy has previously recalled that he approached Queen with a rough cut of a few sequences from the film in hopes of getting them to write one song for the film. Instead, Queen felt so inspired by what they saw that they went on to write six original songs for the film, including the headline track “Princes of the Universe,” along with other musical pieces. The band was so proud of these tracks that, rather than Highlander releasing a soundtrack, the Queen songs were used as the foundation for their album A King of Magic.
Understandably, fans have been hopeful yet apprehensive about the direction of this new reboot and how, if at all, the Queen soundtrack would complement the tone of the contemporary take on the mythology.
Stahelski, who directed the four John Wick films, also explained how he aims to honor the movies, TV series, comic books, and all other corners of the Highlander lore with this new project, which has Henry Cavill attached to star.
“We’re trying to encapsulate everything you loved about the original with more — meaning we want to ground it, we want it to be a great chance at world-building and mythology. But we still want to keep it fun,” Stahelski detailed. “It’s like the Wick movies. You want to experience this world, you want to believe it’s real. But it’s also five degrees off from reality. This is a movie with immortals running around chopping each others’ heads off. There’s a certain ridiculousness to it. It’s like the Wick‘s. We ride the tone. Everybody in the movie thinks it’s real. But we as an audience can get our heads around it — look, suspend disbelief. We’re trying to get you on board for this amazing journey with people who have lived hundreds of years. It’s a challenge. But I’m very excited.”
Stay tuned for updates on the Highlander reboot.
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