Will British actor Henry Cavill return to the role of Superman? While that remains a big if, for fans and the DC Universe, the actor is looking to get immortal in the interim. According to a report from Deadline. Cavill is being eyed for the leading role in Lionsgate‘s “Highlander” reboot from director Chad Stahelski (the “John Wick” series).
READ MORE: ‘Highlander’ Remake Back In The Works With ‘John Wick’ Co-Director
Cavill has been most recently swinging a sword in the Netflix fantasy series “The Witcher” and going toe-to-toe with Tom Cruise as a C.I.A. villain in Christopher McQuarrie‘s “Mission: Impossible – Fallout.” His Superman status, a year after talk of potential cameos, remains unresolved. Still, perhaps a franchise like “Highlander” can fill the franchise fantasy gap on the big screen, both for the actor and audiences.
READ MORE: Tom Cruise Sought For Sean Connery Role In Forever Developing ‘Highlander’ Remake
The original 1986 cult film starred Sean Connery and Christopher Lambert and spawned multiple sequels, two live-action television shows, a cartoon series, and even an anime film. That film focused on a Scottish warrior (aka Highlander) named Connor Macleod (Lambert), banished from the Macleod Clan after he dies from wounds on the battlefield only to be resurrected. His kin believes him to be evil and eventually attempts to settle down elsewhere on his own only to be schooled by a fellow immortal named Ramirez (Connery) that teaches him that the only way immortals can die is by having their heads cut off, usually by a sword. When immortals kill each other, their energy is transferred via “the quickening,” which increases their longevity/power. Immortals can be either friends or foes, but there can be only one in the end. The prize of being the last immortal can live as a mortal and have a natural death.
Stahelski has been attached to the “Highlander” reboot for years. “Highlander” has remained a popular and seemingly viable franchise despite the horrible “Highlander II” and other dismal cash-in film sequels.
One of the great aspects of the first movie was its stellar score from Queen and the time-jumping between the various points in Connor’s extended life. Sadly, the sequel tinkered with the mysterious nature of the lore revealed to be aliens imprisoned on Earth. The entire twist was a letdown; that is likely why the mythology was retconned later on and reworked with the television shows.
At one point, in an old iteration of the remake, “Deadpool” star Ryan Reynolds was attached to play the lead role of Connor Macleod, and Tom Cruise had been eyed for the new Ramirez. The main issue may be timing. Stahelski is scheduled to direct “John Wick: Chapter 4,” starring Keanu Reeves, purportedly shooting next month. Lionsgate has already announced its “John Wick: Chapter 5” intentions as well—they were originally planned to be shot back to back before the pandemic hit—and Stahelski was originally scheduled to direct that too. If that’s the plan, we could be waiting for several years, unless the casting of Cavill has suddenly changed Stahelski plans.