After 17 years lodged firmly in development hell, John Wick director Chad Stahelski and star Henry Cavill’s Highlander reboot finally took a massive step forward when the project was confirmed to be heading to the American Film Market to court potential financial suitors.
Carrying a budget north of $100 million instantly makes it a risky proposition, but when you’ve got the mastermind behind a billion-dollar action franchise and the guy that played Superman for a decade leading the charge, then it instantly becomes a much easier sell.
One of the major questions is whether the property holds much sway among modern audiences, but in an interview with ScreenRant, Stahelski stated a compelling case for why Highlander is coming back.
“If you’re a fan at all, you know about the TV shows and the mythology there, the things that worked in the feature aspect of the franchise, what didn’t. I would like to think that it has — I guess, I hope I’m bringing to it the realization of the potential that we all see in that franchise. Now, we probably don’t love all the other ancillary stuff that’s come out of it, but we love the potential of it. There isn’t an episode of the TV show that I didn’t watch hoping for more or wanting more. That’s not to say they did a good or bad job, just that I want more. For whatever reason, 20 years later, I want more Highlander.”
Having mastered grounded action through the Wick saga four times over, the filmmaker is also keen to play in a more fantastical sandbox, which is mouthwatering given what we’ve seen from Stahelski thus far.
“I think that franchise with the mythology of people going through the centuries, and the burden of immortality as much as the wish fulfillment of immortality, you know, how you relate to people you love and don’t love, both mortal and immortal, and what you can do with that is some of the most romantic, interesting, existential stuff I’ve ever seen. I think it’s a playground for everything that I love about the John Wick series, and everything that I can’t do in the John Wick series, because I’m dealing with mortals, so it gives me another realm to play in. So, I just look at it as a natural evolution of worldbuilding and potential behind that is more than any other property that I’m attached to. And I know that, so hopefully, that’s where I’ll put my energies and whatever talent I have.”
Consider us sold. Highlander channeling the spirit of John Wick with Cavill going full Geralt of Rivia as a master swordsman? Any self-respecting genre junkie can’t deny that sounds like a treat.