After much clamouring from fans for Dave Bautista to play the villain to Henry Cavill’s (Man of Steel, The Witcher) Highlander Connor MacLeod, word is that the Guardians of the Galaxy star is in final negotiations to join the Amazon MGM reboot of 1986’s cult classic Highlander.
In the original Highlander, Christopher Lambert (Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance) portrayed MacLeod, a medieval Scottish Highlander who learns he is immortal. He is mentored by Juan Sánchez-Villalobos Ramírez, played by Sean Connery (James Bond films), and ultimately engages in a centuries-spanning conflict with other immortals, adhering to the film’s iconic line “there can only be one”.
The new action-fantasy film, produced under Amazon MGM’s United Artists banner, is confirmed for a theatrical release and sees Bautista joining Cavill, Russell Crowe (The Pope’s Exorcist, Gladiator), and Marisa Abela (Back to Black) in the cast. Cavill will star as MacLeod, with Crowe taking on the role of Ramirez. In this new version, Bautista may helm the role of The Kurgen, a ruthless immortal barbarian, who has murdered others across centuries to absorb their essence. In the original, this formidable antagonist was memorably portrayed by Clancy Brown (The Penguin).
Bautista’s near-confirmed casting marks both a full-circle moment and the realisation of a long-running fan wish. He was previously in talks to play the Kurgan in 2015, when an earlier version of Highlander was in development under director Cedric Nicolas-Troyan (The Huntsman: Winter’s War) for Summit Entertainment. More recently, fans have imagined Cavill and Bautista as rival immortals in a series of fan-made trailers.
Chad Stahelski, director of the John Wick series, is at the helm of the upcoming film. Principal photography is scheduled to begin at the end of September, with filming set to take place across locations in the UK and Hong Kong.
Michael Finch, co-writer of John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023), penned the screenplay. Production isled by Scott Stuber and Nick Nesbitt under United Artists, Neal H. Moritz, Stahelski’s 87Eleven Entertainment, Josh Davis of Davis Panzer Productions, and Louise Rosner also serving as producers.
Bautista’s likely casting marks a return to Amazon feature projects. He has starred in the action comedies My Spy (2020) and its sequel, is in post-production on The Wrecking Crew opposite Jason Momoa, and is reportedly in talks for the sequel to Road House (2024), all in collaboration with Amazon.
An exact release date for Highlander has not yet been set, though Stahelski previously said it would likely arrive in either 2027 or 2028.
Conversation with Ting Wei is like chatting with a weird AI bot programmed only with One Piece lore and theories, sitcom quotes and other miscellaneous pop culture references. When he’s not sleeping, he’s highly likely reading manga. In fact, the only thing he reads more than manga is the Bible, and it’s honestly pretty close.
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