Toss a coin to your… Highlander?
First of all being a Scottish person myself, I can say for sure that I don’t think there could have been a better fit for this role. This is welcome news, and is going to be a brilliant boost for fellow Scots, lovers of the genre and Scottish culture across the globe.
Picture in your mind if you will: vast mystical landscapes, looming mountains, glittering lochs, proud animals roaming across a misty plain, the faint sound of bagpipes whistling in the wind… and a rugged Henry Cavill staring, intently… in a kilt.
Ok, ok, I might have romanticised that a little bit, but you get the gist.
Yup that’s right folks, your favourite Superhero / International Spy / Witcher / Sherlock Holmes is ready for his next big starring role.
And no, it’s not Bond.
News broke yesterday (initially from Deadline) that Henry Cavill has signed on to star in the upcoming reboot of the Scottish fantasy flick Highlander. Henry has already proved that he is a dab hand with a blade in his roles in both The Tudors and The Witcher, we just hope his accent is up to scratch!
The Man of Steel star took to Instagram to share the news with his 16.2 million followers yesterday (21/05/2021). He posted a snippet from the Deadline article followed by his “research” items which includes books on how to wear kilts, what looks like a malt whisky sample, and a sgian dubh (a small dagger worn as part of traditional Scottish dress with a kilt).
The original Highlander film starred Christopher Lambert, Sean Connery and Clancy Brown.
It was released back in 1986 but it wasn’t an immediate hit at the box office. It later became a home entertainment sensation and was so popular the filmmakers decided to create four more sequels and even make a TV show spin-off in 1992, creating a new franchise.
The fantasy action-adventure film tells the tale of Scottish Highlander Connor MacLeod, an immortal being living in New York during the eighties. MacLeod must face the last remaining immortals in order to win the ultimate prize: the power of all the immortals that have ever lived. As “There can be only one.”
The new version of the fantasy franchise will be directed by Chad Stahelski(John Wick series) and penned by Kerry Williamson (Gangsters of Shanghai) and Ryan J. Condal (Game of Thrones spin-off House of the Dragon). It’s not quite clear if the new rendition will be a complete reboot, or a brand new story (y’know with the potential of becoming many many more feature films).
As this film is in very early stages of production there is no official release date. However, Ryan J. Condal has delivered the script to Lionsgate and filming is set to start up later this year.
We can’t wait for the first visuals to come out!
