The planned "Highlander" reboot is still in development. However, instead of bringing the story to the big screen, director Chad Stahelski, who has worked on the "John Wick" franchise, might put the remake on television.
Speaking with Collider, Stahelski revealed that they hope not to mess up the "Highlander" reboot. So, they are being very careful about where the story could be headed.
The director said that they are planning to come up with better mythology that could properly expound on the characters, where, even if there must just be one Highlander in the end, the essential people in the story won't exactly die or disappear in the storylines. Thus, cramping the story of the "Highlander" reboot might be better as a TV series than a two-hour film if they want to come up with good mythology.
Lionsgate tapped Stahelski to direct the "Highlander" reboot in 2016 following years of development. The project has been hatched as far back as 2008 with "Grey's Anatomy" star Kevin McKidd originally attached to star as the Highlander.
Before Stahelski, Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, Justin Lin and Cedric Nicolas-Troyan were also asked to direct the movie. But obviously nothing came out of the project and the screenplay also kept changing writers.
In March, Lionsgate hired Ryan Condal ("Colony") to create the new screenplay. In an interview with Slashfilm, Condal said that he and Stahelski are huge fans of the original movie. They have been discussing how to remake the story in a way that will click with today's audience, while still retaining the spirit of the original idea.
"Highlander" charts the faction between the MacLeod men and the Kurgans. They are immortals with roots from 1500s Scottish Highlands who are trying to survive in the present day. They are also skilled with the swords and dark arts.
The original "Highlander" film starred Sean Connery and Christopher Lambert. It ran in theaters in 1986 to less than stellar box office performance. However, the story became a cult favorite and even spawned a sequel in 1991, titled "The Quickening," which did worse at the tilts than the first movie.
But following the two films, a "Highlander" TV show starring Adrian Paul ran from 1992 to 1998 in France. It was syndicated in the U.S. and spawned the spinoff "The Raven," which lasted for one season. In between the shows, however, more "Highlander" films were released that had a niche following despite its poor box office and critics reviews.
The "Highlander" reboot doesn't have a release date so far. Lionsgate has also not picked who will star in the production since the script is not yet complete.
