Man of Steel star Henry Cavill has reportedly sustained an unspecified injury while preparing for the start of production on Highlander, the hugely-anticipated reboot from filmmaker Chad Stahelski. Production on the film, which was set to begin soon, will now almost certainly be delayed until early 2026, according to numerous sources.
Amazon-owned MGM Studios’ United Artists is producing the film, a remake of Russell Mulcahy‘s 1986 cult hit. Besides Cavill, Highlander will star Man of Steel‘s Russell Crowe as well as Guardians of the Galaxy franchise stars Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, and Djimon Hounsou.
Highlander has been in and out of development hell for years, first at Lionsgate, and later at MGM/UA, after United Artists acquired the rights. Between 2008 and 2012, a number of actors were rumored to star in the reboot, with notables including Kit Harington, James MacAvoy, and Robert Pattinson. In 2012, Ryan Reynolds was actually cast in the role, but the production fell apart. After Cavill joined up in 2021, the Stahelski/Cavill combination has been so compelling that fans have foregone the traditional grumbling about remakes.
Roxanne Hart and Christopher Lambert in HIGHLANDER“We’re trying to encapsulate everything you loved about the original with more – meaning we want to ground it, we want it to be a great chance at world-building and mythology. But we still want to keep it fun,” Stahelski said in 2023. “It’s like the [John Wick] movies. You want to experience this world, you want to believe it’s real. But it’s also five degrees off from reality. This is a movie with immortals running around chopping each others’ heads off. There’s a certain ridiculousness to it.”
After years of delays, Highlander had been set to begin production this fall. Instead, barring a miracle, filmmakers plan to get a fresh start in early 2026. The original plan was to release sometime in 2026 — not a particularly long production/post-production period for a big, action epic. It is not clear whether delaying the start of production will have a knock-on effect that pushes the movie back to 2027.
Highlander centers on Connor MacLeod, a Scottish warrior originally played by Christopher Lambert. After a near-death experience in battle, MacLeod learns that he is part of a long legacy of immortal warriors, invincible unless they are beheaded. A contemporary swords-and-sorcery tale, Highlander is a cult classic that spawned four sequels, a TV spinoff, and an anime adaptation.
Little is known about the remake, although Stahelski has confirmed that music by Queen will be included in it. The band’s impact on the original Highlander is second only to their imprint on Flash Gordon.
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