Chad Stahelski has been trying to get his “Highlander” off the ground for a good decade. In 2021, it was confirmed Henry Cavill would star. While we haven’t had any set news for awhile, we do know the project, which was being developed for Lionsgate, has moved to Amazon MGM Studios / United Artists.
Michael Finch, who previously worked with Stahelski on “John Wick: Chapter 4,” is penning the script. Stahelski justifies the lengthy development time for the sake of wanting to get this franchise revival done properly.
“It’s just a tough nut to crack because the Highlander property is so involved and the mythology is so deep. But to try and make it our own, and be somewhat true to the original, yet do it in a way that makes it ours, is a little tricky,” Stahelski said. “We don’t want to do a remake. We don’t want to do a reinvention. We want to do something that’s fresh, that utilizes the mythology of what everyone loves from the first movie.”
All of which is completely fair to say we know what happens when someone doesn’t get it right. We get “Highlander 2: The Quickening.”
Amazon’s interest in acquiring the franchise is not surprising given how adamant they are about capitalizing on existing intellectual properties. Just look at the lengths they went to in order to get the James Bond franchise. Granted, “Highlander” isn’t as big of a property, but it’s a known quantity with a fanbase that is eager for fresh material.
When we have more updates on what that material will be, we’ll let you know.
