‘Highlander’ Reboot Could Be a Movie or TV Series

The original Highlander‘s blend of fantasy, action, and Queen soundtrack made it one of the more memorable movies of the ’80s, with none of its follow-up projects finding nearly as much success. The franchise was last seen in the form of an animated series and movie in 2007, though John Wick director Chad Stahelski has been hard at work trying to find a way to revive the property, with one of the biggest hurdles being the decision to pursue a feature-length film or a TV series.

“We’re trying to get it done. Anyone who knows anything about the property knows it has a lot of meat to it. It’s a good property. It’s got a lot of potential,” Stahelski shared with Collider. “We’re just trying to figure out the best way not to f-ck it up. Not to try and fit it into a one hour, 45-minute movie, which, when your pitch is, ‘There can be only one,’ and in your first movie you kill everybody but the one, sequels have a problem of happening. So we’re trying to design in a way that gives us a little more lead in, a little more time with the mythology and see some of the best characters.”

He continued, “They did seven seasons of TV, and even though the TV show may not hold up today, the idea of it and the characters they brought in were super cool. So we’re trying to devise a methodology that leads up to The Quickening. You just don’t end with a one-on-one battle in New York, cut off a guy’s head, and that’s it. We want to do this in such a way that it becomes more of a series whether it’s short form or long form that would let us explore that in the best way. I have a huge, heartfelt love and respect for the project, so we’re trying to find the best way to do it to give fans what they want.”

Highlander: The Series may have had a long run, but the production value of the show left much to be desired. The filmmaker promised that, whether it became a movie or TV series, a major goal would be to deliver audiences an exciting experience full of impressive action and fantastical locales.

“We’re well past the script phase in terms of what we want to accomplish with a feature-length version of what we want and based on there being more after that. We want to tell the complete story of The Quickening, the Immortals, and all that. But the overall environment is changing so much. Look what Netflix is doing with TV now,” Stahelski pointed out. “As an action designer myself, there are two or three episodes of Game of Thrones that blow away 90 percent of features. Netflix has a whole new delivery system with features on that coming off differently and letting filmmakers and directors expand out without being crushed by opening weekend box office. So there’s a couple different mediums we want to explore and what is the best way to bring this out in.”

The director’s next project, John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, hits theaters on May 17th. Stahelski also has projects like Gangsters of Shanghai and Rain on the horizon, so it’s unclear when a Highlander project could take shape.

How would you like to see a new Highlander project come together? Let us know in the comments below!