I Wasn't Excited For Henry Cavill's Highlander Reboot, But Then I Watched The OG Highlander, And WTF

Over the last year, I’ve found myself writing about the Highlander reboot starring Henry Cavill quite a bit. After more than a decade spent in development hell, the project was finally greenlit in 2023, and casting news started rolling in last year. While I was mildly interested in this new take because I like many of the actors who’ve been announced to appear, I definitely wouldn’t say I was ecstatic for Highlander because, and some of you may be surprised by this, I’d never actually seen the 1986 original. In my defense, it’s not like it’s considered to be one of the best 1980s movies.

Nevertheless, I finally decided to rectify that recently, and watching the movie that started it all was a real WTF experience, as was learning about where the franchise went from there. However, I strangely now find myself feeling a little bit of excitement for the new Highlander. But before I get into that, let me talk about the viewing experience with the original.

Highlander Is A Goofy Movie

I went into the original Highlander knowing about its premise of immortals fighting each other until the remaining victor claims the mysterious Prize, hearing names like Connor MacLeod and The Kurgan, and, of course, being familiar with the tagline “There can only be one.” But I didn’t know any of the specific plot beats, so let’s just say I went into Highlander 90% clueless. Well, nearly two hours later, I was left reeling from how goofy this movie is.

Highlander is not as serious as I was expecting it to be, although I won’t go so far as to call it an actual comedy. I actually had to check with one of my Gen X coworkers to see if people who saw Highlander when it was first released felt the same way, as people’s definition of what’s considered serious can change with time. Just compare 1989’s Batman to the Dark Knight trilogy and The Batman. But no, he confirmed to me people were all aware of Highlander’s inherent goofiness back then.

Christopher Lambert’s bizarre amalgamated accent as Connor in 1985. A pre-Shawshank Redemption Clancy Brown chewing the scenery several times over as The Kurgan. Scotsman Sean Connery plays an immortal from ancient Egypt who was masquerading as a Spaniard in the 1500s. The awkward-at-times fight choreography. The Queen-powered soundtrack. These are just some of the ways that made Highlander tonally disjointed for me, though it was certainly still an entertaining watch. And it does qualify as one of the great movies and TV shows about immortality.

The Franchise Got Even Weirder From There

After watching Highlander, I was curious about where the franchise went from there, and man, it gets way kookier from there. Highlander II: The Quickening revealed the immortals to be aliens, and the movie was so horribly received that an alternate “Renegade Edition” was cut together to remove their extraterrestrial origins. Highlander III: The Sorcerer just ignored Highlander II altogether, but neither it nor the following two movies fared much better critically.

That’s not to say everything in the Highlander franchise has been looked at unfavorably. The anime film Highlander: The Search for Vengeance received positive reviews. There’s also a dedicated fanbase for the live-action Highlander TV series that ran from 1992 to 1998 and followed along with Duncan MacLeod, Connor’s cousin, who lived in a world where the events of the first movie still happened, but they did not lead to the Gathering. Still, this is a franchise that’s seen more lows than highs, so it’s no wonder Highlander is in dire need of a reboot.

Why I’m Actually Looking Forward To The New Highlander Now

I’ll be honest, with the exception of possibly watching the TV show someday, I have no interest in checking out any of the Highlander projects from that first era. However, I’m all in on the general concept of immortals walking the Earth and fighting for the Prize, provided it can be handled with a more serious hand. This reboot may be able to do that.

For one thing, the new Highlander movie is being directed by Chad Stahelski, the man who also helmed the first four John Wick movies. So if Highlander is also rated R, we can hopefully expect the same kind of visceral, gritty action from Keanu Reeves’ film series. Infuse Highlander with that same kind of style and seriousness, albeit not going completely dour, and Amazon MGM Studios (which acquired the movie from Lionsgate) might have itself a hit.

I Hope The Reboot Expands Heather’s Role

As I mentioned earlier, Henry Cavill is being joined by a stacked lineup of talent in Highlander, including Russell Crowe as Juan Sánchez-Villalobos Ramírez, Dave Bautista as The Kurgan, Djimon Hounsou as an immortal African warrior (perhaps Sunda Kastagir), and Jeremy Irons as the leader of an organization called The Watchers that monitors these immortals. However, it’s Karen Gillan’s Heather, Connor MacLeod’s first wife, whom I’m hopeful is fleshed out in the reboot.

Heather’s role in the original Highlander is to show the tragedy of Connor marrying the love of his life, then having to watch her age and eventually die while he stays forever young. Oh yeah, and she screamed a lot when Ramirez and The Kurgan were fighting each other as her and Connor’s castle home slowly crumbled. With her action experience accumulated from playing Nebula in the MCU, Ruby Roundhouse in the Jumanji movies, and Sam in Gunpowder Milkshake, Karen Gillan deserves to play Heather as more than a simple damsel in distress. Put a sword in her hand and give her a more active role in the story.

Highlander began filming in late January after Henry Cavill recovered from an injury suffered during preproduction. The reboot doesn’t have a release date yet, but now that I have a better grasp on the franchise, I’m looking forward to learning when it will come out. I may not ever rewatch the original Highlander, but I’m legitimately interested now to see how this mythology can be adapted to appeal to modern audiences.