The HIGHLANDER Reboot Moves Forward after New Screenwriter Hands in Script
Lionsgate has been developing a reboot of the classic 1986 Christopher Lambert and Sean Connery film Highlander for about ten years. But, it looks like the studio is ready to get rolling on it. According to Deadline, pre-production on the film will start later this year.
The studio seemed to get excited about the project after screenwriter Ryan Condal turned in a script that he wrote for the film that they flipped over. Condal is best known for writing Dwayne Johnson's Hercules and the upcoming film Rampage.
The movie is being helmed by John Wick director Chad Stahelski and it will be a new take on the story of an immortal Scottish swordsman who can only be killed by decapitation. Patrick Wachsberger, Head of Lionsgate’s Motion Picture Group, had this to say in a statement:
"We’ve finally got a screenplay we’re happy with. We have set up the story so it has sequel potential."
Last year, Stahelski talked about the film and said that the remake was being developed as a trilogy. He explained that they are taking the best story elements from across the franchise and implementing it all into one story that will be spread out across a trilogy of films:
"I think the TV series hit on a lot of great stuff wasn’t in the feature, between the watchers and all the different types of immortals. How do we get this into a feature mode before we dribble it into the TV world? Well, let’s restructure it in parts, let’s look at it like it was a TV show, let’s look at it like it was a high-end trilogy. How to we tell the story of The Gathering, The Quickenings, The Immortals and how do we really build this world out even more so than the original project? That’s what we’re restructuring right now. It’s taking all the good stuff that we had before I was involved in the project from the script; redeveloping the script to give us really good chapters one, two and three; and expanding the world."
He also talked about his vision for the film saying:
"The vision we’re trying to get across and what we’re trying to develop, I equate very close to Star Wars. The first one is a very satisfying ending but it does leave the door open and that’s kind of how I see this. I would really like to expand it over three. I see The Gathering happening over three. It’s tricky, don’t get me wrong, that’s why we’re still developing it. We want to be able to tell three complete stories that all kind of fit. I think the Star Wars trilogy, at least up to The Empire Strikes Back, is a good example of how we want to process it."
I loved the original Highlander movie and I hope this remake turns out good. I do like that Stahelski is directing it because I think he will give the fans something really cool. Remakes and reboots are a tricky thing because most of the time they suck. Hopefully, that won't be the case with Highlander.
I do think it would be epic if they could actually pull Sean Connery out of retirement to make an appearance.