‘Highlander’ Reboot Delayed After Henry Cavill Injury
Henry Cavill was injured while prepping for the long-awaited reboot of Highlander and, as a result, production on the movie has been pushed back to at least next year.
Deadline reported the news but did not specify what happened, saying only that “Henry Cavill was injured during pre-production while training.”
The film, which has been in development for years under the direction of various filmmakers and with different actors intended for the lead, is going to be directed by John Wick’s Chad Stahelski. After Cavill’s injury, Deadline says the film is not expected to begin shooting “until likely top of next year.”
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In addition to Cavill, the updated Highlander will feature Russell Crowe, Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, and Dave Batista.
The original Highlander was released in 1986 and became one of the stranger franchises in Hollywood history. The whole series is predicated on the notion of a secret race of immortals who battle to the death in a series of sword fights; when one is beheaded, their power is absorbed by their killer. These characters (who are not formally called Highlanders, but that’s what everyone describes them as now because the movie was called, y’know Highlander) supposedly have to fight to the death until only one of them is left.
Which happened at the end of the first movie! Then, of course, because Highlander was a surprising hit, they made four sequels and multiple television series. Go figure that one out. (The first sequel, Highlander II: The Quickening, is rightfully considered one of the worst movies ever made. Which sort of makes sense when your starting point is “a battle between a race of immortals, which already ended in the last movie, but now we’re making another.”)
Discussion of a new Highlander movie have emerged over and over since at least the late 2000s. Directors ranging from Juan Carlos Fresnadillo to Justin Lin were attached at various points, as were actors like Ryan Reynolds. Henry Cavill was rumored for the lead all the way back in 2021, which means it will be at least five years between his early involvement to the movie’s release — if we’re lucky.
The Highlander reboot doesn’t have a confirmed release date.
