The remake of Highlander is finally set to start filming in 2025 – and director Chad Stahelski has been chatting about a potential near-future setting.
Following a busy spell where he’s been reportedly been doing some very hands-on supervising on Lionsgate’s upcoming Ballerina, director Chad Stahelski is finally gearing up to make Highlander with Henry Cavill. The film is set to be some kind of remake, reimagining or reboot (delete as appropriate) that will focus on Cavill’s 500 year old immortal chopping rivals’ heads off – because when it comes to immortals, there can be only one. Apparently.
Speaking to The Direct to celebrate the original John Wick's 10th anniversary, Stahelski opened up a little about what to expect from his take on Highlander. It’s a project that has been gestating for many years now, with several filmmakers and stars failing to get their own versions off the ground.
“We’re bringing it forward from the early 1500s in the Highlands to the beyond present-day New York and Hong Kong, and seeing how it goes. There’s big opportunity for action,” explained Stahelski, possibly hinting that the New York portion of the film will take place in the near future. What else could ‘beyond present-day’ mean?
“There’s a chance to play a character that not a lot of people get to play. And it’s a bit of a love story, but not how you think. On John Wick, I learned a lot on how to bend the storytelling a little… another kind of myth,” he added.
One of the original film’s more satisfying elements was the inclusion of a love story that explored what happens when an immortal falls in love with a naturally-ageing human. Although it was a subplot that took up little of the 1986 film’s runtime, it was a story beat that echoed throughout the rest of the film. We’re keen to see how Stahelski’s film might explore this idea (or a different one) to really emotionally amp up a story. A story which is ostensibly about people trying to decapitate each other.
Finally, Stahelski revealed the pitch that sold the film to Henry Cavill, the titular Highlander and the protagonist of the film. For fans of the John Wick films, it should also be a pretty compelling sell.
“You’ve got a guy that’s been alive for over 500 years,” explains Stahelski. “He’s the last person in the world that wanted to be in this situation. So you get to cover quite a broad spread of a character arc there. And you get to experience someone that’s trained over 500 years and sort of played [with many types of] martial arts.”
It makes sense, doesn’t it? If you knew others were coming for your head with very sharp blades but had forever to prepare, you’d master every martial art known to man. Or invent some sort of sword-proof neck brace.
To a very specific fight choreographer like Stahelski and his talented collaborators, we’d imagine that they’re thinking very carefully about what that ageless martial artist would look like, not to mention how those skills would intertwine with the use of swordplay.
Should Stahelski talk further about Highlander in the coming months, we’ll let you know.
Expect the Highlander remake to emerge at some point in 2026.
