Highlander reboot

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NOVEMBER 22, 2016 9:19am PT by Borys Kit
'John Wick' Director Chad Stahelski Tackling 'Highlander' Reboot (Exclusive)
A search for new scribes to work with Stahelski is about to get underway.


Mike Pont/FilmMagic/Getty Images
Chad Stahelski

A search for new scribes to work with Stahelski is about to get underway.
There can be only one and, in this case, it's Chad Stahelski.

Stahelski, who, along with David Leitch, was the filmmaker behind John Wick, has signed on to direct the long-gestating reboot of Highlander for Lionsgate.

"I've been a huge fan of the original property since I saw it in high school," Stahelski told The Hollywood Reporter. "Such great themes of immortality, love, and identity are all wrapped up in such colorful mythology. I can't think of a better property that gives the opportunity to create interesting characters, mythic themes and action set pieces."

Neal H. Moritz and Peter Davis are producing the project, which could also see Stahelski and Leitch join the team via their 87Eleven production and action stunt company, though that is still to be determined.

The original 1986 Highlander pic starred Christopher Lambert, Sean Connery and Clancy Brown as immortal beings, hunting down one another and collecting more power. Lambert played Scottish swordsman Connor MacLeod, Connery portrayed Egyptian Juan Sanchez Villa-Lobos Ramirez and Clancy was a barbarian known as the Kurgan. The film — with its "There can be only one" catchphrase — spawned four sequels and three television series.

The Highlander reboot has been in the works since 2008 when Lionsgate-owned label Summit acquired the rights. The project has seen directors such as Justin Lin, Juan Carlos Fresnadillo and Cedric Nicolas-Troyan pass through its doors.

But Lionsgate never gave up on what it believes could be its next big franchise. A search for new scribes to work with Stahelski is about to get underway.

Stahelski worked in the stunt world and doubled for Keanu Reeves in the Matrix movies before co-creating the stunt company 87Eleven with Leitch. They worked as second unit directors on action movies ranging from Ninja Assassin to Captain America: Civil War and made their directorial debut with the well-regarded actioner John Wick, which starred Reeves and was released by Lionsgate.

Stehelski is coming off of directing the recently wrapped John Wick: Chapter 2. He is repped by WME and Gang Tyre.

Here's our other Highlander thread and our John Wick 2 thread.

[boxerbilly]

Thanks Gene.

[GeneChing]

John Wick director still wants to reboot Highlander franchise
CLARK COLLIS
December 21, 2018 at 11:00 AM EST

At the start of 2017, John Wick franchise director Chad Stahelski confirmed to EW that he was planning to reboot the action-fantasy Highlander franchise.

“Right now, I’m very interested in doing the Highlander property,” said the director. “It’s scarily similar to John Wick. There’s a great mythology, it’s got an action-design challenge. What would a guy really be like after 500 years of practicing sword-work? I’m still a stunt guy at heart. You want to reinvent gunfights, how do you do it? You want to reinvent swordfighting, how do you do it? And that’s where we are at now. I love the first Highlander and I think I’m in a pretty good spot. The creative team, the producers and the studio that’s behind it have kind of said, ‘It’s yours to play with.’”

Little has been heard about the project in the time since, and Stahelski himself has been busy directing John Wick: Chapter 3, which opens May 17. But the filmmaker insists that he is still wants to bring a new version of the Highlander saga to the big screen.

“I still very much want to go in and do Highlander,” says Stahelski.

That project has competition for the director’s attention.

“I’m a huge fan of a property I’m involved in, and working on the script now, called Sandman Slim, which I f—ing really really like,” says Stahelski. “It’s a (fantasy) book series by Richard Kadrey. We’re working on the script right now. So, between those two projects, I feel very fortunate.”

The original Highlander, released in 1986, starred Christopher Lambert as a Scottish warrior who can only be killed by decapitation and Sean Connery as his mentor. Directed by Russell Mulcahy, the film spawned both big-screen sequels and TV shows.

By chance, I re-watched the original a few weeks ago. Perhaps I'll review my 2018 impressions of that here soon...

[GeneChing]

After seeing the John Wick 3 screener last Tuesday, I'm all in with anything that Stahelski does.

I'll drop that review on KungFuMagazine.com tomorrow.

'John Wick' director is trying 'not to f--- up' 'Highlander' reboot
By Clark Collis May 15, 2019 at 10:37 AM EDT



Director Chad Stahelski has had his hands full for the past five years or so overseeing the John Wick franchise, whose latest entry, John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, is released Friday. But the filmmaker has simultaneously been developing a new version of Highlander, the 1986 action-fantasy movie which starred Christopher Lambert as an immortal Scottish warrior. Stahelski had initially discussed the possibility of turning the property in a film trilogy and later talked about maybe bringing the Highlander mythology to the small screen. When EW recently visited Stahelski in the John Wick 3 editing suite, the director gave an update on the project.

“Still working on the development of that,” said Stahelski. “Highlander is such a massive property. Luckily, the studio (Lionsgate) is really behind me in this. I truly believe this is one of those properties that could actually sustain a good universe, meaning a TV show or something. And to go out there, and just haphazardly throw together what we think would be a quick sword fighting-immortal movie, I think would be a mistake. And honestly, the people behind this, the studio behind this, they’re dying for this to go. If anything, I’m the one holding it back, and trying to creatively lay out everything. We just don’t want to paint ourselves into a corner creatively, like happened with the original.”

Stahelski was referring to 1991’s Highlander II: The Quickening, in which it is revealed that Lambert’s character is actually an alien. While the franchise would birth more films and several TV shows, both live-action and animated, Highlander II has developed a reputation for being among the most misguided sequels of all-time.

“We’re trying to really lay out this universe and not f— it up to the point where you cannot continue this story,” said Stahelski. “We love it so much, we’re trying to treat it with a lot of care.”

Does Stahelski know who he would have star in a new Highlander? “I have my wish list, yeah,” he said.

Watch the trailer for the original Highlander above.

[GeneChing]

This could work...

May 21, 2021 12:27pm PT
Henry Cavill Circling ‘Highlander’ Reboot for Lionsgate

By Adam B. Vary


Courtesy of Priscilla Grant/Everett Collection
There can be only one Highlander, but apparently, Henry Cavill can be many superheroes.

Adding to his growing list of marquee franchises, the star of “Man of Steel” and Netflix’s “The Witcher” is in negotiations to star in Lionsgate’s reboot of “Highlander,” the 1986 fantasy adventure film that spawned an entire pop-culture ecosystem, including sequels, TV series, tie-in novels, comics and video games.

Chad Stahelski (“John Wick”) is directing, with Neal H. Moritz, Josh Davis and David Leitch producing. Amanda Lewis, Patrick Wachsberger and Gregory Widen will executive produce. Kerry Williamson (“What Happened to Monday”) is writing.

Cavill’s role is unclear, but he will be one of two leads in the film. The original film starred Christopher Lambert as Connor MacLeod — a Scottish warrior born in the 16th century who learns he is an immortal after he dies in battle, only to come back to life — and Sean Connery as Connor’s mentor, an Egyptian improbably named Juan Sánchez-Villalobos Ramírez (although he was born with the name Tak-Ne). Juan teaches Connor that he is one of a small handful of humans who are born with what is called the Quickening, which allows them to live forever — unless they are beheaded. Centuries later in present day New York, Connor faces off against the Kurgan (Clancy Brown), another immortal who is bent on beheading all immortals, thereby becoming the most powerful being on Earth.

When the film first opened, it was a flop, grossing just $5.9 million domestically, but it was so popular on home video that Lambert and Connery starred in a sequel in 1991, and the franchise expanded from there. A reboot has been in various stages of development for over a decade; directors including Justin Lin and Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, and stars including Ryan Reynolds and Dave Bautista have all been attached at various points.

Cavill, meanwhile, has been busy shooting Season 2 of “The Witcher” for Netflix, and he recently signed up to play Sherlock Holmes again opposite Millie Bobby Brown’s titular performance in “Enola Holmes 2.” His days playing Superman, however, appear to be over, with Warner Bros. rebooting the franchise with producer J.J. Abrams and screenwriter Ta-Nehisi Coates.

Deadline first reported the news.

[GeneChing]

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