After years and years of waiting, former Man of Steel Henry Cavill finally suits up as the immortal warrior Highlander in director Chad Stahelski’s upcoming reboot. With filming now underway, we have had our official first look at the action fantasy flick, as well as several shots from behind the scenes, with Cavill’s co-star Siobhán Cullen now teasing the “John Wick with swords” sequences that will be on display, along with revealing details of her character, Brenda, who will undergo some changes from the 80s original.
Henry Cavill is, of course, plenty familiar with swordplay following his time spent on Netflix as Geralt in The Witcher. Highlander will make good use of these particular set of skills, with Cavill taking the lead as the titular Scottish warrior Connor MacLeod, who, after discovering that he’s a member of a group of immortals, must fight to survive threats from his fellow undying brethren as they battle to be the last one standing and claim the mysterious “Prize.”
Speaking with Deadline, Cullen teased the action that will litter the Highlander reboot, calling it “definitely one for the fans,” before adding, “some of the fighting scenes I’ve seen are just insane” thanks to the collaboration of John Wick’s Chad Stahelski and dedicated action hero Henry Cavill.
“It’s exciting to work with somebody who is so fluent in the language of action, and it’s like there’s this whole other script that’s happening that is parallel to our dialogue. The subtext and incredible detail to character is incredible and I’m just a keen student.”
As for who she’s playing in Highlander, Cullen confirmed she will star as Brenda Wyatt who, in the 1986 outing, is a forensic scientist and published metallurgy expert who tracks Connor, hoping to make sense of his impossibly crafted sword. According to Cullen, Brenda will go through some major changes in the reboot, with the actress calling this version “totally different.”
“We find her at a different time in her life. We find her getting into trouble and when she meets Connor on a pivotal night, as a mortal, she gets swept up in the world of immortals. Because she is mortal in this immortal world, she’s kind of the eyes of the audience because she is being introduced into this whole new world, which totally upends her whole understanding of humanity and time and what’s possible.”
We’ll have to wait and see exactly what this “totally different” iteration of Brenda is all about, but it sounds more like both she and Connor will be lost souls who see something in each other, with the character also acting as the audience’s way into the story.
Directed by John Wick’s Chad Stahelski, and written by Kerry Williamson and Mike Finch, Highlander has amassed an all-star cast that sees Henry Cavill reunite with several actors from his past, including his Man of Steel co-star Russell Crowe, who is expected to play the mentor character portrayed in the original by Sean Connery, and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice star Jeremy Irons, with MCU actor Dave Bautista playing the main villain of the piece, The Kurgan. Highlander does not yet have a release date but will be released by Amazon MGM Studios.
- Release Date
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March 7, 1986
- Runtime
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116 minutes
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
