Henry Cavill has turned his back on The Witcher universe after three seasons. But he doesn’t seem to want to ditch the role of the sword-wielding fantasy hero any time soon. He could soon be seen in Highlander, a remake of the cult fantasy film Highlander: There Can Be Only One, about the adventures of the immortal Scotsman Connor MacLeod.
Henry Cavill is set to become the immortal Highlander after The Witcher
Hollywood has long been trying to reboot the popular fantasy franchise that ran between 1986 and 2007 four feature films, one TV film, two live-action series and spawned a few other projects. The plans became more concrete when John Wick director Chad Stahelski came on board in 2016.
You can watch the trailer for the fantasy original Highlander here:
Highlander – Trailer (German) HD
However, it took five more years until 2021, with Henry Cavill, a first star for the fantasy reboot was found. Since then, however, it has become quite quiet about Highlander. Last year, Stahelski gave a brief update that the reboot was still in development. Now the John Wick creator speaks up again.
On Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast, Chad Stahelski provided new insight into the reboot’s creative direction and the Plans that go beyond a single movie:
If we pull ourselves together and really get the movie off the ground, we’ll already have plenty of ideas for cool characters and an epic TV series. The foundation for the epic fantasy universe is a long way off
In order to function as a large-scale franchise, the first film in the planned fantasy series is a kind of prequel which brings in elements from the TV series and takes a closer look at the prehistory of Connor MacCleod in 16th century Scotland. This means that the central meeting in the original film, a fight between several immortals in the present, could be delayed and only be seen in a later sequel.
If the subtitle says “there can only be one”, then then can’t you just kill everyone in the first movie.
In addition, Henry Cavill is still involved. The role of the long-haired swordsman who must defend himself against immortal enemies is tailor-made for the former The Witcher star. In the Netflix series he already gained enough fighting experience. But fans should not rejoice too soon.
The production of Highlander has not yet been officially announced. Due to the ongoing Hollywood strike by the scriptwriters’ and actors’ unions, the film’s development is currently on hold. So it could be a few more years before we can see Henry Cavill fighting in the Scottish Highlands.
Podcast: Is Netflix’s The Witcher universe doomed after Henry Cavill’s exit?
In Season 3, Netflix’s fantasy hit The Witcher bids farewell to Henry Cavill as the lead actor. In the future, the witcher will be played by Liam Hemsworth. Can the series, with all of its planned spin-offs, survive this setback?
At this point you will find external content that complements the article. You can show it and hide it again with one click.
We discuss with FILMSTARTS guest Sebastian whether Henry Cavill’s farewell was successful, what strengths and weaknesses the Season 3 finale brings to Netflix and how The Witcher will continue.